University of Nottingham's Creative Energy Homes

stonegard%20exploded.jpg After reading about the Stern Report and George Monbiot's latest, one wonders what houses will look like in a few years. One answer might be Creative energy Homes, a project at the Unversity of Nottingham where six state-of-the-art energy efficient homes will be designed, built and tested. The first, Stoneguard C60, is now under construction. it is designed to "addresses all four principles of the Government's Energy White Paper: the 60% emissions reduction target, fuel poverty, security of supply and competitiveness as well as demonstrating the latest modern methods of construction." The house has some interesting features:
-a big central integrated conservatory to gain passive solar heat and provide lots of daylight;
-thermally conditioned air running through earth tubes;
-active solar collection from roof panels;
-a ground source heat pump.

there is a good diagram (too big for this site) here, showing suppliers and systems;

Aspects of the plan:

'The combined use of a light weight steel frame structure and a concrete basement generates an efficient interior volume which provides both space and functionality.

Balconies have also been incorporated to provide a link with the outside as well as providing solar shading.

The house is orientated with its longest façade facing south to maximise solar energy utilisation. The service areas in the house (kitchen, bathrooms) are located on the rear or north façade and in the same vertical plan for the purposes of construction efficiency.

The living spaces are open plan in design to maximise ventilation, space and natural light, all regarded as high priorities by today's home buyers. In addition large areas have been set aside for storage and a services stack is provided to facilitate construction and maintenance.