Key Facts About The Renewable House
• Low carbon
• Three bedroom detached home
• Timber frame and Hemcrete® walls
• Triple glazed timber windows
• Renewable insulation
• Renewable materials
• Energy strategy
• Lifetime home
• Affordability
• Commercial viability
• Low carbon. From build to end of life, The Renewable House reduces CO2 emissions by minimising the embodied carbon during construction and reducing energy in use.
• Three bedroom detached home. The house has been designed as a three bedroom detached home but the Renewable House concept can be extended to three storey town houses, semi-detached and terraced houses. The design is adaptable enough to be contextualised, with options like bays and balconies and a variety of facing materials available.
• Timber frame and Hemcrete® walls. Renewable and sustainable structure delivers a U value of 0.19 W/m2K and has been designed to achieve an airtightness of 2.0 m3/(hr m2).
• Triple glazed timber windows. The FSC certified timber windows deliver a U value of 1.3 W/m2K, and careful attention to detailing has minimised conductivity.
• Renewable insulation. ThermafleeceTM insulation, made from British sheep's wool, keeps the carbon footprint down.
• Renewable materials. Extensive use of sustainable renewable materials in the paint and furnishings provide a comfortable environment.
• Energy strategy. Highly energy efficient design. Careful attention to detail has minimised cold bridging and maximised insulation. Hemcrete® walls inherently provide high levels of insulation and thermal inertia. Hot water and space heating is provided by an air source heat pump and heat recovery ventilation system.
• Lifetime home. Designed for changing needs, the house is built to be flexible. A bedroom can be used as a home office to reduce the need for commuting. The house can be adapted to different life stages with a downstairs bathroom or a lift between the ground and first floor.
• Affordability. The Renewable House is extremely affordable, with a build cost of £75,000, excluding groundworks and utilities.
• Commercial viability. Unlike many other demonstration houses, the Renewable House has been designed for immediate delivery. Commercially viable, the house is suitable for volume construction.
