Introduction
Francis Court is a development of 15 apartments and a communal area available to the over 45’s on a social rented basis. A key motivation for this project was to communicate the importance of energy efficiency and sustainability principles. This approach helped Accord Housing Association deliver a commitment in their Environmental Action Plan to provide energy efficient houses and reduce the risk of fuel poverty.
What was involved
The project involved Accord Housing Association and the Matrix Housing Partnership taking a lead role in the initial planning and consultation phase over a period of 18 months. The construction was completed in July 2005 and the first apartments were occupied from August 2005 and have proved popular. The application of a sedum roof and conversion of wood fuel into energy using a biomass boiler were a new venture for both Accord Housing Association and the contractor.
Biomass Boiler
A centrally located biomass boiler uses wood pellets to heat water for use in the development for both space heating and domestic hot water. Biomass is a term used to describe fuels that are derived from wood such as wood pellets, chips or logs as an environmental alternative to fossil fuels. These fuel sources emitted the same amount of carbon dioxide while they are being converted to heat as they absorb while the tree was growing. Biomass is a sustainable fuel source.
Passive Ventilation
Passive ventilation systems replace warm, stale air contained in the building with fresh air to provide a comfortable living environment. Passive ventilation systems take advantage of natural air movements so do not use components like pumps and fan that use electricity. Passive ventilation systems are a low energy alternative to conventional air conditioning systems and the system used in this development includes a heat recovery system so that the majority of the heat from the stale air is transferred to the fresh incoming air.
Energy Efficient Appliances
The use of electrical appliances contributes about one third of a households energy bills with entertainment systems and kitchen appliances consuming most electricity. Energy efficiency products are those that carry a mark to show they have been endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust.
Insulation
The high levels of insulation in the roofs, doors, and floors (up to 200mm) and double glazed windows means that the building is well insulated. This combined with orientation to enable the building to capture heat in the suns rays means the requirement for central heating can be kept to a minimum.
Sedum Roof
Sedum is a type of moss that is grown on the roof that provides both heat and sound insulation; it helps reduce heat lose in the winter and heat gain in the summer to lower energy bills. The benefits of sedum roofs extend to the provision of a habitat for flora and fauna and the absorption of rainwater to reduce the risk of flooding downstream by releasing storm-water more slowly. Sedum also requires very little maintenance.
Outcomes
Accord Housing Association have added an environmentally friendly development to their portfolio of properties and applied their experiences to other projects meaning more tenants can live in developments with lower running cost. The development generates only 1.5% of the carbon of an average UK home and 6% of the carbon of an average new home.
For further information
- Contact Joyce Rowlands, Quality and Procedures Manager, Accord Housing Association email joycer@accordgroup.org.uk, Tel 0121 500 2368
