Housing future in Upton

Over seven acres of land in Upton, Northampton, has become the home of a housing development that embodies 21st century living. Barratt Northampton’s NU@D2 includes an innovative mix of eco technologies, cutting edge design and revolutionary layouts. It also reflects an emerging residential planning philosophy, New Urbanism (NU), which has proved popular in America.

The ethos is based upon sustainability, with everyday amenities on hand for residents and efficient housing being key criteria.

Homes are currently on sale and offer layouts with roof terraces and winter gardens, and eco features1 such as green roofs and solar panels.

The development will include 165 homes in one and two bedroom apartments, and two, three, four and five bedroom styles, in two, three and four-storeys.

The Barratt plan for Upton includes courtyards, tree planting, mews courts and attractive block paving, all creating a feel good factor. In addition, walkways and cycle stores offer residents a healthy and environmentally friendly access to amenities, without having to rely on a car.

Homes also offer a range of eco devices. These help to make NU@D2 a sustainable development, and one that echoes New Urbanism. Barratt state that 85 per cent of materials used are from a sustainable source.

Eco features available include sedum roofs which help to absorb rainfall and alleviate storm water run off. There are two forms of roof panels – solar, which provide hot water, and photovoltaic, which supply electrical power.

There is also an advanced heating system to 30 plots which in addition to providing hot water and warmth, generates electricity to power points. Any excess electricity goes back to the National Grid.

Barratt aim to help with the environment; reduce the homeowners’ annual running costs2, and lower carbon emissions. Because of the eco features, NU@D2 has achieved an impressive ‘Eco Excellent’ rating with the EcoHomes Standard – Excellent being the highest mark.

The exterior design of many housetypes is revolutionary. Terracotta and rendered panels have been used with full height glazing, which offer a contemporary feel, and an abundance of natural light.

Internally, many layouts are also innovative. Three-storey living is available, but now Barratt are introducing four-storeys, and a new way of living.

Four levels offer even greater flexibility, with a bedroom on the ground level and living areas on the first floor, reflecting a reversal in layouts and living. These homes also offer useful and luxurious outside space – a roof terrace, which leads from the master bedroom.

Other homes include unique design features, in particular, open plan kitchen, dining and family areas. These ‘zones’ provide individual living in a vast space, which is both light and welcoming.
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Scientists charged with developing giant 'green energy' battery

Eon UK is developing a giant battery designed to store electricity generated by wind farms and solar panels.

Scientists at the energy group's technology centre in Nottingham aim to build a large-scale prototype that would be able to store one megawatt of electricity for four hours - the equivalent to 10m AA batteries and the same size as four articulated lorry containers.


"Green power is only generated from wind farms when the wind blows and that might not be when the power's needed by customers," said Bob Taylor, managing director of energy wholesale and technology. "By researching and developing this battery we can store the power generated by wind farms any time and then use it when our customers need it the most.
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Green policies: how the three parties compare

Conservatives
Emissions: The Conservatives say that they want to achieve a reduction in CO2 of at least 60% by 2050, but unlike the government they say they would have annual targets for the cuts, set and monitored by an independent climate change commission.

Liberal Democrats

Emissions: The party's current long-term target is a 60% reduction from 1990 levels by 2050 - the same as Labour's - and the Lib Dems also share the government's target of a 20% cut in CO2 emissions by 2010.

But a proposed policy to make Britain carbon-neutral by 2050 will be discussed at the Lib Dem conference next week.

The Lib Dems back a policy of "contraction and convergence" which would set up a global framework to cap CO2 emissions at a per-person level which is the same for all countries.

Labour

Emissions: The draft climate change bill, published in March, set down a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% on 1990 levels by 2050, and an interim target of a 26%-32% reduction by 2020. There is no annual emissions target. Instead, the government has committed to setting five-year "carbon budgets" and reporting to parliament on its progress every year. Initially budgets will be set for 2008-12, 2013-17 and 2018-22, but in future they will be set 15 years in advance.

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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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