When it comes to new home development, sustainability, energy efficiency and eco friendly housing is now one of the most important factors to home buyers. With homes being the cause of a large proportion of carbon emissions, the government is introducing even more schemes to ensure that new build homes are as environmentally friendly and energy efficient as possible.
Whether you’re a developer that is planning a large housing development, or you’re an individual working on a self build, there are a range of simple ways to implement energy efficiency to your building that will ensure sustainability.
Planning is key to ensuring that all energy efficient measures are implemented effectively. We’re proud to be experts in all things sustainable when it comes to new builds, so get in touch if you would like advice on your development, or would like help with testing.
To help you understand some of the best ways to plan for sustainability and what to consider when planning, we have put together this helpful guide below.
The best way to plan for a sustainable home
If one of the main aims of your build is to create a sustainable environment, then ensuring you have energy experts on hand from the planning stage is an essential. They’ll be able to advise on the best materials to use, how best to implement energy efficient measures and ensure that all plans are correct from the very beginning.
If your local planning authority has certain energy efficiency measures that need to be adhered to, they’ll be able to advise on the best and most cost effective ways to implement these. For example, we worked on a zero emission development in Sussex recently, where the local council needed an energy statement to prove the build was going to be carbon neutral in order to obtain planning permission. This meant all plans had to be extremely accurate and demonstrate all of the materials used would produce zero carbon emissions.
Research is key when it comes to planning, so do your research and use your energy experts to find the best ways to implement sustainability into your development of eco houses.
How can you make a house sustainable?
Having worked on an extensive range of new build developments, providing various energy services, we are experienced in knowing the best ways to make a home as sustainable as possible.
Sustainable materials
Choosing the correct materials for your eco home will make a huge difference in the amount of emissions it produces. There are various different energy efficient materials that can be used for sustainable houses, but the most popular include:
- Double glazed windows, or you can go one better and go for triple glazed windows, which are that bit more efficient
- Underfloor heating
- Excellent insulation that promotes air tightness
- Timber frame
- Renewable energy such as solar PV panels
Adding all or any of these to your new build project will seriously reduce the overall carbon emissions of the home, making it far more energy efficient and less harmful to the environment.
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is becoming an increasingly popular addition to all homes, including new build developments. This is mainly due to the fact that they are now extremely affordable and easy to use, especially because there are several government grants available that gives homeowners money back for energy that is generated. This makes renewable energy a great selling point for any development.
The main types of renewable energy sources used on eco homes are:
- Solar Panels – either Solar PV or Solar Thermal – Solar PV uses energy from the sun to generate electricity whereas Solar Thermal uses energy from the sun to heat up water
- Air Source Heat Pump – this uses heat from the outside air to heat up the home. It doesn’t matter how cold it is outside, it can still use the air to generate heat
- Ground Source Heat Pump – similar to the air source heat pump however, it uses heat from the ground to heat the home
Not only can we advise you on the best renewable energy sources to choose for your zero carbon emissions home, we also are now able to install air source heat pumps directly for you – making it one less job you need to worry about on your development or self build project.
Energy efficient measures
Sustainability doesn’t just stop with the building itself, that’s why choosing the right appliances and equipment in the home is super important, as it can help to make the home as energy efficient as it can be. This will not only be a great selling point for the new homes, as it will reduce energy bills for homeowners, it will ensure the builds themselves are as focused on reducing carbon emissions as possible, helping the environment.
Carefully choosing the most energy efficient appliances, such as washing machines and dishwashers, as well as installing the latest combi boilers and LED lightbulbs will go a long way to ensuring the home is sustainable as possible.
Get in touch
Need help ensuring your development is full of sustainable homes? Or want advice for your self build? Get in touch with our team today who would be happy to help with the building of your eco homes. We’re proud to be energy conservation specialists with over 15 years experience, so are perfectly placed to advise you on the right method for your sustainable homes.