CarbonLight – zero carbon homes
VELUX takes seriously their duty to play a part setting the agenda for a new generation of sustainable buildings. Following the wisdom of its founder, Villum Kann Rasmussen, who stated in the 1940, that ‘one experiment is better than a thousand expert views’, the company launched its Model Home 2020 project. By Keith Riddle, managing director of VELUX Company Ltd.
Concerned that more needs to be done to ensure that zero carbon homes are meeting their design standards, communities minister Andrew Stunnell used the Liberal Democrat Party Conference to announce the set up of the Advisory Committee on Compliance. This was a forward thinking move. The delivery of
zero carbon homes is paramount if the UK is to meet its carbon reduction targets of 80 per cent by 2050 and while more of these homes are being built in theory, we cannot yet be sure that they are performing to the high standards in practice. The industry also needs to do what it can to drive
the zero carbon ambition forward and not only by contributing to innovation in building design. Energy performance monitoring and feedback from our low carbon homes post-construction will be equally vital in achieving our collective goal. This international initiative has seen the design and
construction of five low carbon buildings in Denmark, Austria, Germany and the UK, with another currently being completed in France. The aim is to find a solu- tion to the challenge, designing homes that are not only extremely energy efficient, but that actively pro- mote health and wellbeing and create an attractive and practical living environment. The CarbonLight Homes built in Rothwell,
Kettering, are the UK’s part of this initiative. The two zero carbon homes conform to the principles of Active
House, having been designed to promote the health and wellbeing of occupants, generate a sense of com- munity and advocate a respect for the environment.
“The intention is to create a new
blueprint for successful sustainable homes that can be rolled out across the country”
They also achieve a minimum 70 per cent on-site reduction in carbon emissions with the remaining 30 per cent offset by energy efficiency improve- ments to existing properties elsewhere in the borough. Project partner, HTA Architects, has
made innovative use of building technology, natural daylight and ventilation to minimise energy consumption. The homes promote
energy self-sufficiency, using solar heating in combination with air- to-water heat pumps for hot water and space heating. The
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dynamic building envelopes will regulate heat trans- mission throughout the day and night. They will reduce the energy needed for cooling in the summer by employing natural ventilation with the triple height atriums around the stairs allowing for stack and cross ventilation. In winter, natural ventilation works along- side a mechanical ventilation system with heat recov- ery, which recycles heat from the kitchen and bathrooms into the living areas. Windows play an important part in capturing solar energy and regulating the temperature of the homes
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