With its low-carbon timber structure now complete & wrapped by the first layer of weatherproofing, our East Yorkshire Eco-House stands as an emerging case study for a new standard of eco-friendly family homes.
Choosing a timber structure for this project removed the need for substantial amounts of cement-based blockwork & concrete beams, lowering the building’s embodied carbon substantially. The home will also be highly thermally efficient with a U value of 0.11 W/m2K, beyond both current building regulations and the Passivhaus standard.
This double height passive solar living space allows stack ventilation to flow up through the heart of the home, it also brings in ample sunshine to warm the home’s thermally massive terrazzo & concrete ground floor.
The East Yorkshire Eco-House also integrates a sophisticated air-source heat pump, heat harvesting ventilation system (MVHR) and an on-site rainwater harvesting tank; allowing rainwater to be used to flush toilets, wash clothes and water the home’s lush garden, without ever receiving a water bill.
Now wrapped with the first layer of weatherproofing, the timber frame will be subsequently insulated with high performance, fire-resistant insulating foam achieving high levels of thermal efficiency and airtightness levels.
Compared against a typical four-bed generic developer house we estimate the efficiencies of this family home will save ~300 metric tons of carbon emissions from heating and energy savings over the next 50 years and will save over £24,000 in negated energy bills over the next 10 years. Read more about these calculations in our Sustainable home strategies guide.
The project also reuses chalkstone and bricks harvested from the site’s previous derelict cottage, minimising the need of new carbon-intensive materials whilst maintaining the unique material palette of the village.
