Environmental first for homes in England

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Feb 28, 2008

Bramall Construction has become the first building contractor in England to design and construct saleable 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.

All other homes in the scheme reached Code Level 3 - another first for the UK.

By gaining the Sustainable Code Level 4 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 Households are a major source of carbon emissions and the government has made clear that reducing these through good green design for new build homes is vital to tackling climate change.

The Code for Sustainable Homes will help both housebuilders and purchasers design and understand a home's green features.

Zero carbon will be the standard for all new homes from 2016 and Communities and Local Government are working with and supporting housebuilders such as Bramall Construction who are building low carbon homes now and are ahead of the game in preparing for 2016*.

Neil Baxter, Managing Director, Bramall Construction, said: "We're delighted to be involved in the construction of England's first Sustainable Code Level 4 houses and extremely proud that its location is in our home county of Yorkshire".

"We hope that it will be the first of many that we're involved with across the country".

Amanda Garrard, Executive Director at Pennine Housing 2000, said: "This development is vitally important for housing in this country".

"New homes need to be both economically and environmentally friendly to ensure that we reduce carbon emissions and protect our future".

"All companies involved in the development and construction of housing must be prepared to play a pivotal role in this shift change".

John Carleton, Field Director (North) of the Housing Corporation, said: "The partnership working of the Housing Corporation and Pennine Housing has enabled the development of these new and innovative houses in Halifax".

"It is quite an achievement to reach level four of the Code for Sustainable Homes and admirable, particularly as associations are only required to reach level three from April 2008".

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

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.

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

All new build homes will have to be zero carbon by 2016 (code level 6) and will need 25% less carbon from 2010 and 44% less from 2013.

*Information sourced from Department for Communities and Local Government.