Eco Houses Under Construction
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Project Aim
The aim of this project is to enable interested home-owners and building professionals to visit and learn about local eco houses under construction. Many "eco features" are hidden by the time a build or refurbishment is complete, so this project is all about explaining what is not always visible in an eco-home.
It is about raising awareness of energy saving and generation options, and their relative priorities in different situations.
Further details
The project started with two building projects to follow: one new build designed to sustainable homes Code 5 and one low energy refurbishment of a 1950's solid wall home. Other examples are being included as opportunities arise.
Each event, whether on the building site or off-site, focuses on the approach taken to make each building low energy or sustainable, and the practicalities of achieving this. Visitors have the chance to see the building fabric as it progresses (in the flesh and in photographs), and to learn about the theory and reality of the project.
The "invisible" aspects covered include the tangible (insulation, draught-proofing, ways to ensure good air quality) and the intangible (reducing cold bridging, preventing condensation and mould growth, materials with low embodied energy, reductions in carbon emissions and energy use).
Relevant experts (the home owners themselves, or architects and experts from companies providing these specialist products or services) are on hand at each event to give presentations or just chat and answer questions.
The events in the series include presentations (on/off site) and site tours led by the architects and experts from companies providing insulation, lime render, timber frame buildings, etc. An exhibition of all the homes involved so far (and others) is being planned for January 2012.
Inspiration
Outcomes so far
Unexpected outcomes
Obstacles, and how we overcame them
It is important to be flexible - planning an event on a building site can be tricky if the building work does not progress at the anticipated rate! Set expectations that the date may need to change, or invite people to sign up and publicise the exact date when it is safe to do so.
It is a good idea to have a range of houses to showcase, partly because people like to compare different options, and partly because it adds to flexibility if one project is delayed.
Lessons Learned
Links and Partnerships
The Eco Houses Under Construction project built on previous projects run by West Bridgford in Transition's Eco House Group. The initial Eco House Group events were promoted via all of WBiT's other projects and other local Transition networks.
Members of the WBiT team bring a range of professional expertise to the project (technical, IT, media, marketing)
Others who supported the Eco House Group include the Energy Saving Trust local representative, the Energy Officer at Ruschcliffe Borough Council, and of course Groundwork East Midlands.
Organisations who have promoted the Eco Houses Under Construction events include Climate Change Action Network, Global Action Plan, Notts Green Network, AECB (Sustainable Builders Association), Superhomes network, Great British Refurb, local magazines, the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.
One very useful partnership, stumbled across by chance, is the AECB local groups network. We have teamed up with the representative of the East Midlands local group to share events. The AECB runs information-sharing events to enhance the expertise of its members, so we have organised combined events with Eco House Group members (who are mostly home owners). It also means we have gained access to more eco house examples than we originally anticipated.
Sources of Funding
We successfully applied to Groundwork East Midlands for a "Growing Climate Friendly Communities grant" to fund the Eco Houses Under Construction project.
The funders are Climate East Midlands, East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership and Communities and Local Government.
Contacts
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