First Generation Homes slash carbon emissions by 75% » Housing » 24dash.com

Caroline Lucas MEP, Green Party Member of the European Parliament and a member of the EU Trade and Environment Committee, joined Drum Housing Association, residents at Kingsley in Hampshire to mark the completion of six newly refurbished eco-homes.

The eco-homes are first in the country to achieve ‘Generation Homes’ status, a benchmark funded by the Energy Savings Trust and managed by ESD (Energy for Sustainable Development).

‘Generation Homes’ approval requires that annual carbon dioxide emissions from an existing house must be slashed by 60%, in keeping with the Governments targets to reduce carbon emissions by 60% across the Housing Industry by 2050.

Drum slashed emissions by an impressive 75%, reducing their collective emissions from 10 tonnes to just 2.5.

In addition to the ‘Generation Homes’, Caroline Lucas MEP opened a further 19 properties that are the first in Hampshire to have domestic Ground Source Heat Pump’s installed.

These homes are part of the ‘Closing the Loop’, a national initiative that provides a benchmark standard for sustainable housing.

Drum have reduced carbon emissions in these homes by 50-60% and again cut running costs.

Caroline Lucas was emphatic in her praise of Drum’s achievement, “Housing accounts for massive carbon dioxide emissions that are fuelling climate change. If we are to stave off its most devastating impacts we must incorporate the highest energy efficiency standards and utilise renewable energy.

“This development shows that this is possible now: I congratulate Drum Housing Association for adopting good environmental design principles and I look forward to similar projects becoming the norm, rather than the exception, in future."

The homes were refurbished through the use of eco-technology to radically reduce their collective carbon dioxide emissions by 135 tonnes per year.

The project was a partnership between Drum and Generation Homes. Grants towards the project were awarded by Generation Homes and the LCBP (Low Carbon Buildings Programme).

Drum, who recently won the coveted national Gold Award for environmental sustainability, achieved the targets for the homes in Kingsley by employing an impressive range of complimentary eco-technology including solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, ground source heat pumps and waste water heat recovery systems.

Paul Ciniglio, Drum’s Sustainability and Innovations Manager, explained how they achieved the targets.

“We have employed a mixture of technologies to meet the targets set. Every house has solar electric PV panels on the roof, which generate clean electricity on site. Bore holes, 80m deep, were sunk in the gardens to allow ground source heat pumps to extract the earth’s natural heat via a looped pipe. We have even fitted heat exchangers on waste water pipes to recover about 60% of the heat normally lost down the drain. We are very proud of our achievement.”

The refurbishment of the homes reduces running costs for the residents, especially when compared to the former solid fuel and electric heating.

The power supplied from the PV panels is free and excess electricity generated is automatically sold back into the National Gird if the residents wish.

The ground source heat pumps provide heating and hot water, delivering a remarkable 3 kilowatts of thermal energy to every 1 kilowatt of electricity used to drive the pump. In addition, the heat exchangers on the outflow pipes recycle energy back into the home, conserving heat and power. I

nsulation levels, improved home air tightness and low energy lighting completed the energy efficiency measures employed.

Assen Gasharov from ESD, the lead consultant for Generation Homes, is looking forward to future projects with Drum.

“We are extremely proud of the project. Our relationship with Drum is a very productive one and we are already working on new projects together. It is exciting for us to witness the first of the Generation Homes in the country. Increasingly, social landlords need to look at the bigger picture in terms of their residents, the environment and the technology available to them. Drum has really led the way.”

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