Potter + Holmes has built one of the first 'Carbon Zero' houses in the country.
Potter + Holmes designed this new build house to have the twin brief requirement of being both an environmentally friendly Carbon Zero House and fully wheelchair accessible for the clients - a sustainability manager for a large Housing Association and a wheelchair user access consultant.
The energy saving measures have been achieved through:
Extremely high levels of insulation to structure and joinery
Low thermal mass
Low window areas except to the south to maximise passive solar gain
High levels of air tightness
Whole house heat recovery
Low energy lighting throughout
And the following renewable energy provisions achieve the 'Carbon Zero' balance:
Solar thermal for hot water
Log burning stoves from wood sourced from the site for heating and hot water provision in winter
Photovoltaic to balance electricity consumption
'Environmentally friendly' aspects include:
Prefabricated timber frame with 'I' beams to walls & roof
Recycled newspaper insulation
Lime/recycled glass screed
Linoleum flooring to ground floor
Hardwood flooring to first floor
Organic paints
Grey water re-use
