Energy efficiency
We all surely now accept that Climate Change is upon us, but what are we doing about it?
Well Dockleaf has made a conscious decision to put investment in energy efficiency measures before profit, so that our conscience is slightly clearer, and we can say that we are making difficult decisions for the benefit of future energy consumption.
Measures that we incorporate in our houses include:
Ground source heat pumps
A heat pump is a heat exchanger that takes energy from the ground beneath us and converts it into heat for the house. The technology is well established.
For example, everyone knows that a fridge dissipates heat into the atmosphere via the coil on the back of the fridge - well a heat pump effectively does this in reverse, by taking heat from the earth, and using it to heat the house.
We use a specialist company to install the heat pumps, Geowarmth.
There are significant benefits to the house owner of utilising a ground source heat pump, including:
- Significanly cheaper running costs. In Medburn, the alternative commonly used is oil fired boilers, so the annual cost saving of running an electrically powered heat pump is significant.
- Reduced maintenance costs. A ground source heat pump does not need an annual maintenance inspection, and should run trouble free for years on end.
- Operating efficency does not reduce over a heat pump's anticipated life cycle of 25 years, unlike conventional boilers.
- Heat pumps offer the lowest CO2 emissions of any method of heating a building. A ground source heat pump produces no CO2 emissions on site. The electricity used to power the heat pump will have casued CO2 emissions if it was produced from fossil fuels, but even allowing for this, the overall energy usage for running the heat pump will reduce carbon emissions by two thirds compared with an oil fired boiler. A heat pump is thus a very environmentally friendly solution.
- Improved rating for Energy Performance Certificate for the house. With the advent of Housing Information Packs (HIP's), this rating should make future resale easier.
For more information on Ground Source Heat Pumps and energy efficiency:
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
http://www.energynortheast.net
Other energy efficiency measures that Dockleaf incorporates into its houses:
- Higher levels of insulation that required by building regulations
- Whole house under floor heating, which works perfectly with ground source heat pumps
- Thermostatic control throughout the house, so that heating can be minimised, and focussed where it is needed
- Houses built to last - thereby compensating for the fact that house building contributes to carbon production
