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Selling surplus electricity back to the national grid and an energy bill of around £80 a year are just two of the benefits for tenants renting new eco-homes at Arun Crescent, West Sussex from the housing association Saxon Weald.

 

Fuel poverty, spiralling energy costs and environmental concerns prompted Horsham-based housing association Saxon Weald to invest in green technology for their newest homes, which are the first houses in the country built to Level 5 of the government’s code for sustainable housing.

 

Mono pitch roofs allow the houses to make the most of the photovoltaic cells, which produce energy sold to Scottish Power at 28p per unit and are bought back by householders at 10p per unit.

 

Hot water and heating are taken care of by energy generated in a ground source heat pump. The Wealden clay on which the homes are built meant drilling six bore holes down to a depth of 85 metres for each home’s pump, but the benefits to tenants are startling – energy bills for the three bedroom homes are estimated at £83.44 a year.

 

The ground source heat pump heats water inside the house to 55 degrees centigrade, which is given a regular boost up to 60 degrees to make sure there are no lurking bacteria. Hot air ventilation systems mean the houses are automatically heated to 18 degrees, although tenants can regulate the temperature in their own homes.

 

A mechanical heat recovery ventilation system takes warm moist air from the kitchen and bathroom, gets rid of the moist old air, takes in fresh air and warms it as it enters the house. 

A rainwater harvester with a capacity of 1500 litres is built underneath the patio of each home. These supply water to flush both the upstairs and downstairs loo. The bathroom taps have an aerated low flow system to reduce water use and the bath is short and shallow to help reduce water consumption, which in a Level 5 house is restricted to 80 litres per person per day.

 

The houses, in the village of Billingshurst, look quite ordinary, but are built on a timber frame with a high performance closed-panel system and covered with mesh and low maintenance render.

 

Saxon Weald’s development project manager Marie Riordan has overseen the building from the beginning – which involved the demolition of 12 old garages. She estimates that at approximately £160,000 each, the six houses were 13% more expensive to build than houses built to Level 3 building standards, used for all new-build social housing.

 

Even at construction stage environmental considerations were paramount, says Marie: ‘We used hardcore from the demolished garages in the foundations and worked with an ecologist in the early stages to make sure that small mammals and other creatures could escape the building work, covering holes and putting in ramps.

 

‘We’ve also put bat boxes and hedgehog shelters in the nearby woodland, which we cleared of rubbish and scrub by hand to protect the area.’

 

Tenants supply their own domestic appliances – there’s room for a dishwasher or a tumble dryer (but not both) and the kitchen has recycling bins built-in. The houses are decorated with environmentally-friendly paints.

 

All six houses have three bedrooms, and all are built to last an occupant a lifetime – the straight run of the stairs will accommodate a stair lift and there is potential for a lift to be installed up to the second bedroom.

 

Outside there’s a garden shed complete with cycle hoops, a water butt, a composter and a rotary washing line.

 

Residents, who pay £111 per week in rent, moved in a couple of weeks ago and are already making themselves at home. Ambulance technician Andrew Tyler, his wife Heidi and their three children are delighted:

 

‘We’ve waited a long time for this. It’s fantastic to have such a clean and lovely home. The technology is easy to understand and the house is very thoughtfully laid out and innovative.’

 

He said the environmental aspect was very important to him – and although he hasn’t got to know his neighbours yet, they’re clearly thinking along the same eco-friendly lines: ‘They’re already growing runner beans!’