The Eco home that creates more energy than it uses!

Birdsong an Architects own self build property designed with innovative technologies to create a comfortable 3 bed family home with exceptional living and performance standards. The success of this modest but highly energy efficient family home is proven through its exceptionally low running costs of -£25 per annum, inclusive of standing charge, hot water, cooking, lighting, heating & cooling, charging 2 Electric Vehicles, working from home and a lot of power tools! This home was also the first home in the country to receive the plaque as AECB CarbonLite certified, proving a low carbon construction technique.

R-Wall’s Supreme 150 with an achievable U-Value of 0.11W/m.K was used for the main structure, chosen for the closed cell insulation, which make key aspects such as airtightness, passive standard performance levels and prevention of cold bridging much easier whilst providing long term performance and build longevity. Birdsong sits on R-Wall’s Underslab insulated system matching the U-Values of the walls which prevents cold bridging from the ground and envelopes the entire build in a uniform layer of insulation. Triple glazed windows and doors orientated and sized to maximise solar gain whilst preventing overheating, and incorporation of various technology to complement each other and ensure a long-term stable family ‘forever’ home with minimal running costs. Technologies include solar PV and battery storage, EV charger, Air Source Heat Pump, MVHR, triple glazing, passive solar gain and shading.

Birdsong isn’t designed to be a large ‘wow’ house but it is a statement of what is possible when innovation, careful design and environmentally conscious approach combine. A physical demonstration of how performance standards reduce running costs and how achievable that goal can be. Birdsong should represent a benchmark in sustainable construction and all futures homes should aspire to achieve these standards.

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