St. Modwen Homes have launched the first affordable carbon negative homes, which are capable of reducing energy bills by 79%
In partnership with British Gas, St. Modwen Homes has launched the trial of two brand new affordable carbon negative homes at its Heathy Wood development in Copthorne.
The homes are capable of reducing homeowners’ energy bills by 79% and delivering a 125% reduction in CO2 emissions.
British Gas will install the trial homes with the latest Hive Smart Home technology, to aid the energy efficiency of these properties.
The carbon negative homes are part of a trial that will analyse the results of energy efficiency of the properties over the course of 2022.
The three-bedroom houses will produce more energy than they consume. In fact, they could even reduce a family’s total energy bills by 52% when compared with a standard new build house and around 79% compared with the average UK home.
Built with a timber frame, the foundations have been formed using low-carbon concrete, meaning the embodied carbon has also been reduced from the outset.
The carbon negative homes include simple design improvements to the building fabric, insulation, and ventilation. This has transformed the efficiency of the homes compared to traditional builds – the trial houses are ten times as airtight as industry standards.
Additional features include photovoltaic solar panels, a battery, an electric vehicle charger, an air-source heat pump, a smart hot water tank, heat recovery ventilation and a wastewater heat recovery unit to minimise energy use and reduce emissions.
Managing director at St. Modwen Homes, Dave Smith, commented:
“With energy prices continuing to rise, creating energy-efficient homes that are affordable to build is more vital now than it ever has been.
“As an industry leader in using low-carbon modern methods of construction already, we have a responsibility to use this experience to prove that carbon negative houses can significantly cut energy bills and reduce emissions.
“Over the course of this year, we will be analysing the results of this latest trial to aid us in our objective to build these new homes at scale for the benefit of homeowners and the environment.”