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New homes are green but look conventional

Posted: 27/05/2008

Two new green homes built by Raven Housing Trust in South Nutfield, Surrey, have been visited by Housing Corporation Director for the South East, Fiona Cruickshank and members of her staff, who were surprised by how traditional the highly efficient buildings looked. The Mid Street homes are some of the first homes funded by the Housing Corporation to achieve Code for Sustainable Homes level 5 and are 100 per cent more energy efficient than houses constructed in line with standard building regulations.

The building looks like an ordinary house from the outside but is divided into two flats. The large cavity between the walls of the flats has been well insulated and covered with natural brick and clay tiles and is designed to conserve energy.

Windows are triple-glazed and heating is under-floor and all heat generated is kept within the house by a heat-recovery ventilation system. This uses the heat from stale air leaving the building to warm fresh air coming in from from outside.

Director of the South East Fiona Cruickshank said: "This has been a most interesting visit seeing homes that have a traditional look while encompassing high energy efficiency.

"This is a good example of partnership working with the local authority and others to achieve homes that are just one level short of being zero-carbon code level 6, which the government has declared all new housing must reach by 2016.

"The visit provided my staff with a real sense of what the Code for Sustainable Homes is all about and how such a high rating can be achieved. We will be looking to fund more homes with high levels of energy efficiency in the future so that they become more of a norm rather than an exception in the South East."

Nick Harris, Chief Executive of Raven Housing Trust, said: We are delighted to welcome Fiona Cruickshank and her staff to Nutfield to see the UK's 'greenest homes', which were built with support from the Housing Corporation.

"These two new homes demonstrate that new eco-friendly homes can look like normal homes but have a much lower impact on the environment. We'll be monitoring energy used and talking to the new residents about what life is really like with the biomass boiler, photovoltatic panels and rainwater harvesting equipment in the months and years ahead.

"This will allow the entire housing sector to learn from the homes Raven has built in Tandridge."

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