A house which has low-cost energy central to its design has recently opened in near Bridgend, Wales.
The building was designed by Phil Jones, a professor in the Welsh School of Architecture. It may prove to be inspirational to builders in Cheshire and other places that share a border with the Celtic nation. Professor Jones has said:
“The Welsh and UK governments – and governments across the EU – have set targets for very low ‘nearly zero’ energy buildings by 2020, and zero carbon new housing can deliver this and more.”
The house has the potential to make more energy than it consumes. It was made as a part of the SOLCER project, which has been undertaken by the Wales Low Carbon Research Institute, and was backed by Swansea University. The building has combined renewable energy with energy storage and low energy use in order to hit its targets.
A special kind of cement was used to minimise the environmental impact of the construction. In addition, solar collectors, insulated panels and aluminium windows were used. The building was even positioned in such a way that the roof would have be south facing so solar panels on the roof could reach their maximum potential.
Located on a site in Pyle, the house is situated on land at Cenin Renewables Ltd. The entire construction process for the building took about 16 weeks. The work was accomplished with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund. The performance of the building will be monitored with a view to improving future projects.
