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St Albans Eco House Complete

Posted: 09/10/2006

More than 100 guests have attended the opening of the St Albans eco house to see the traditional 1950's semi that has been transformed into an energy-efficient home. A string of features to reduce energy and water consumption have been installed in the family house as part of a pilot project by St Albans City and District Council to assess exactly how effective they are.

Each feature, from the wind turbine to the solar panel and the rainwater tank, has monitoring equipment attached to allow the council to assess exactly how effective it is. Once the tenants – a family – move in later this year, their energy and water consumption will be compared with that of a family nearby, who have volunteered to help the project.

Many of the products were supplied at reduced prices for this pilot scheme. However full-price costings are being prepared to help the council to assess the cost effectiveness of the various energy-saving features.

The list of green features added to the house is impressive. Solar thermal roof panels provide some of the hot water for the house, possibly all in summer, reducing consumption of gas, and a 1 kw wind turbine is expected to generate enough power to run equipment that is always on, such as the fridge and freezer, and items accidently left on standby, reducing use of mains electricity. A small PV unit powers the bathroom fan.

Rainwater stored in a 4,700-litre rainwater-recycling tank under the rear lawn will be used for the washing machine and for flushing toilets, reducing use of mains drinking water.

An extension, with timber frame, clad in Western Cedar from Canadian forests, which requires less energy to produce than conventional brickwork and a sedum roof, designed to insulate the structure naturally, and reduce rainwater run-off by absorption have been added to enable the council to assess their performance.

Argon-filled timber framed double glazing helps retain heat and the argon acts as a further barrier to reduce heat loss. Sun pipes bring natural daylight into the darker areas of the house, in particular the landing, to reduce use of electric lighting, and ventilation is provided by a 'passive stack' system, which takes advantage of the fact that heat rises.

A highly efficient condensing boiler will run the central heating system, water-saving taps have been installed, and half flush toilets. The roof is insulated with recycled newspaper, wool and hemp, and energy-efficient white goods ie washing machine and dishwasher have been installed.

The plastic ‘grasscrete’ was saved from disposal from another project that the contractors Borras were working on, and recycled to create a parking area to the front of the property. Demolition materials, including rubble and old plastic windows, have been re-used or recycled so successfully that contractor Borras earned a Considerate Constructor certificate for the way they handled site operations.

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