Developing the UK’s zero-carbon homes

The reaction from property developers to the low carbon homes promise has varied. Barratt Homes has come up with small experimental “eco-villages”. Other developers, such as Bovis, have taken things a step further by implementing low-carbon technology in all their new housing developments.
The zero option

Zero-carbon houses are hard to come by, but there are a few developers taking the initiative. Independent sustainability consultants BioRegional Development aim to make zero-carbon housing and sustainable living an easy and viable option for future homebuyers.

BioRegional, together with London charitable housing trust Peabody and eco-architect company Bill Dunster Architects (also known as ZEDfactory), initiated the UK’s largest eco-village in 2002.

The Beddington Zero Energy Development – or BedZED – is a mixed-use development in south London, comprising 82 residential properties and 100 workspaces and community facilities. All are intended to be carbon neutral.

BedZED homes feature high levels of insulation, passive heating and ventilation systems, photovoltaic panels (which generate electricity from the sun) and design utilising as much natural lighting as possible.

An on-site combined heat and power plant – which uses wood waste from street tree pruning as its energy source – was built to supply the remaining heat and power needed in the homes. BedZED houses are, however, connected to the national grid in order to manage fluctuations in energy generation.

Extra cost

BioRegional claims that the cost of building an eco-home, such as those in BedZED, is around 2% more than properties developed in accordance with 2002 building regulations. But the company’s research shows, it says, that the higher price does not deter homebuyers, primarily because their new eco-home will save them up to £500 a year in fuel bills.

As a prototype for zero carbon homes in the UK, BedZED is not without its problems. A major downfall has been the on-site combined heat and power plant, which stopped functioning over a year ago, meaning that the houses in BedZED no longer qualify as zero-carbon.

BioRegional claims, however, that even without the power plant in operation there is still a 57% reduction in BedZED’s carbon emissions.

A report by BioRegional admits that generating all energy on-site is not always a feasible option. This may be due to the limited space of a development (such as high-rise flats), or because the local renewable energy supply is not accessible from all parts of the site. Using off-site energy generation in these cases, the company claims, would make resources more easily accessible and thus more effective.

Retrofitting

If – or perhaps, when – new houses become zero carbon, that still leaves a vast number of existing properties that will continue to leave a large carbon footprint.

Current housing stock is predicted to make up to two-thirds of the homes that will be occupied in 2050, according to researchers at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. If the UK is to significantly reduce carbon emissions from housing in the next few decades then it seems the focus will have to be on retrofitting existing homes with better insulation and renewable power sources.

Tough target

With very few fully functioning zero-carbon houses in the UK at the moment, the government’s objective for zero carbon homes to be mainstream by 2016 seems a long way off.

BioRegional agrees that 2016 is a “stretching target” but says it is nonetheless possible. “When more renewable energy systems are installed … the costs should come down,” the company says, making eco-newbuilds a more viable option.

But as newly built homes comprise just 1% of UK housing stock each year, the government will need to tackle the carbon impact of existing homes.

Retrofitting presents huge opportunities. British Gas, for example, have already teamed up with local government to offer council tax incentives to homeowners in exchange for buying insulation.

To make any home zero-carbon – and not just low-carbon – however, accessibility to significant renewable energy sources will also be required. Not only will the government have to improve the economic incentives for householders to install domestic renewables. Utility companies, it seems, will also need to become more engaged if any zero-carbon scheme is to ultimately be viable.

Facts: Zero carbon housing in the UK: what’s being done

BioRegional Development Group: A registered charity and sustainability consultancy, BioRegional works on various projects that are aimed to make sustainable living in the UK a reality. BioRegional has formed a strategic partnership with WWF under the name One Planet Living. BioRegional co-founded BedZED, the UK’s largest zero-carbon development to date.

BioRegional Quintain: A company currently working on the development of large-scale mixed-use zero-carbon communities in Middlesbrough, Brighton and London’s Thames Gateway.

Barratt Homes: A major UK builder, the company has developed the EcoSmart Show Village, an experimental low-carbon housing development comprising seven residential properties. Horthram Village, a low-carbon housing development located just outside Bristol, will be the live result of EcoSmar
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