Utility Builds Replica 1930s House to Test Renewables
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 04.25.08
We had to do a double take on this one. A UK energy company is building a brand-new house, to 1930s standards, in order to go green. The idea isn’t entirely as daft as it sounds. E.On, one of the largest energy companies in Britain, is teaming up with the University of Nottingham to build a replica 1930s house to test retrofit low carbon technologies. The house will be on campus, and will be lived in by students, and will be used to collect real-life data about the technologies that are utilized:
“"It will be lived in. We want to show the real savings, to get real data, from real people," said Dr Mark Gillott, research and project manager for creative homes at the university. Gillott said that more than 21m current homes - about 86% of the total - will still be in use in 2050. "It's vitally important that we identify and research technologies that are aimed at reducing the energy consumption associated with existing homes,"
While we’re all about retrofitting existing homes for energy efficiency, wouldn’t such an experiment be better conducted on, well, an existing home? No matter, we wish any effort to green our aging housing stock luck. For more on the UK’s push for greener buildings, check out our posts on UK builders gearing up for zero carbon housing, or remodeling the suburbs for One Planet Living.
::The Guardian::via site visit::
Maybe the architect students are involved too and they need to keep it close? Nobody is selling houses in that age group for a price the university can afford? It's the UK and I hear the housing market is high.
I am really interested to see how this turns out. I want to incorporate green living into my 1919 house when I remodel (the last remodel was done on it in the 1950s). But I don't want to lose the features that I love and are part of the architect flavor of the Southern United States.
I love the idea of pre-fab, but I don't understand why they all look like boxes. Those types of houses look so soulless. It makes me wonder why more aren't being designed like the Katrina Cottages.
Great idea as so many house in the Uk were built during this period it could have a number of take ups quickly.