Environmental ConsiderationsPart L of the Building Regulations 2000 - Conservation of Fuel and Power – which came into force on April 1, 2002 lays down strict requirements for energy efficiency within new buildings. Each house being built will comply with this standard and where possible will better it. In addition opportunities will be taken to implement facilities which either save energy or be environmentally friendly. In both cases a saving on the running costs of the house would be anticipated. InsulationSolid walls will be insulated with polystyrene blocks for heat and sound insulation. Stud walls will be insulated with blanket insulation. Roofs and roofspaces will be insulated with a multi-layered blanket which has the advantage of being thin and easy to manage yet providing similar thermal efficiency to much thicker conventional insulating blankets. This will allow roof spaces to be floored without compromising the insulating blanket. The quality and efficiency of insulation reduces the CO2 emissions associated with the house which is a major environmental consideration. HeatingOur favoured heating method is underfloor, piped hot water from a gas-driven combi boiler. Given the levels of insulation in the properties we believe that this is the best combination from a cost point of view. Both Units of Mere End Barn are to be heated in this way. We are, however, happy to look into the installation of Ground Source Heat (GSH) systems in place of a standard boiler. Piped hot water under floor heating can be matched very well with the output from GSH heat pumps. These systems take advantage of the heat in the earth by circulating water through pipes buried either horizontally or vertically in the ground. The water in the pipes is lower than the surrounding ground temperature and so it warms up slightly. This low-grade heat is transferred to a heat pump, where it is used to heat up a refrigerant which is then compressed to generate more heat which warms the water circulating in the house. The installation of a GSH system would be at an additional cost and if required should be discussed as early as possible in the construction. The installation of a GSH system would be another major environmental consideration. Rain Water RecoveryWe believe that this is a major environmental consideration and one that can be satisfied in a fairly simple lo-tech way. Instead of all rainwater from the house guttering and drainpipes being led to soak-aways, it is led to and collected in an underground tank sited within the bounds of the property. This water is filtered before being fed into the tank. The water from the tank is then fed into the house and via a pumped distribution unit is passed to the toilets, washing machine input and external taps. It is estimated that around 50% of the water used in a house can be provided in this way, hence reducing metered water charges by this amount. Any overflow from the storage tank is led to a soak-away and in the unlikely event that the tank is running out of water it will be topped up from a mains supply
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Molinas Consulting Ltd
