Environmental first for homes in Halifax

Bramall Construction have designed and built England's first Sustainable Code Level 4 home in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Bramall Construction, a Keepmoat company, has become the first building contractor in England to design and construct homes to the Sustainable Code Level 4 standard set by the UK Government.

The two homes which have reached the Level 4 standard are part of an 82 home scheme of two bed apartments and three and four bedroom houses based in Illingworth near Halifax.

The properties were constructed by Bramall Construction on behalf of Pennine Housing, part of the Synergy Group, and were funded by the Housing Corporation.

By gaining the Sustainable Code Level Four Standard the homes will save future residents money on energy and heating bill as well as reducing carbon emissions by 46% compared to a traditional home.

All this is achieved through some unique features such as:.

* Solar panels which produce renewable energy for heating hot water.

* Improved U values on glazing, external doors and loft space (i.e other properties have good U values at 0.25 but these two properties have U values of 0.12) to prevent energy loss.

* Fitted exhaust air heat pump which converts the energy in dirty air into useful energy.

This is used to heat domestic hot water and radiators.

* 300mm cavities which are fully filled also to reduce energy loss.

The Sustainable Code measures energy and water efficiency of a home as well as its sustainability against key design categories.

It was launched by the department of Communities and Local Government in April 2007 to replace the EcoHomes standard.

Compliance with the Code is mandatory for publicly funded homes in England with homes achieving a rating on a scale of one to six depending on the standard achieved.

Back to top