Green Homes Piloted in Wales
Featured innovations will include water heated by solar power and a system to re-use rainwater.
Housing provider Grŵp Gwalia is developing the homes in Neath, near Swansea, to Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
The £4.2 million development is part of a Welsh Assembly Government pilot project which allows registered social landlords to examine the implications of achieving higher levels of The Code for Sustainable Homes. The code is a national standard for sustainable design and construction and measures the environmental performance and sustainability of a home over levels 1-6.
The 15 three-bedroom houses and four one-bed apartments at Groves Road, Neath, will achieve a 100% energy improvement on what is required by Building Regulations. They will be just one level away from being zero carbon, meaning that the homes will be much cheaper for the tenants to heat.
Lesley Penn, Grŵp Gwalia’s executive director of housing and community welfare, explained what benefits the sustainable technologies will have for the new tenants.
She said: “The homes here will incorporate solar thermal panels to provide hot water, photovoltaic panels for electricity, triple glazed windows and a high level of insulation to keep heat in and rainwater harvesting amongst many other features.
“Not only will these homes be better for the environment by emitting less carbon, but all these features mean that the tenant can spend less money on heating and water bills.
“Gwalia has a long tradition of building sustainable homes and has been developing homes with sustainable technologies for decades. Building to Code 5 is a welcome new challenge for us.
“We believe that by incorporating sustainable technologies on our developments, we can go someway to decreasing the number of people who live in fuel poverty, ensuring that people can afford to heat their home sufficiently.”
Leader of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Councillor Ali Thomas, said the development plays an important part in meeting housing need in the area and in helping the local economy.
He said: “Neath-based contractors Hale Construction have been selected to build the homes, bringing more money and jobs to the local economy.
“This project will also increase the company’s knowledge and skills set with regards to sustainable construction for future projects.
“The development at Groves Road is one of only four Code 5 pilot projects in the whole of Wales, and the first Code 5 development in Neath Port Talbot.
“The homes will be extremely energy efficient and cheaper to run for the new tenants. I hope this will be the first of many highly sustainable developments built in the county.”
The homes at Groves Road are due to be completed in summer next year (2011).