Contents:
Worcester Zero Carbon House
Summary of Features:
Solar Photovoltaic & Water Heating
Ecoslate
Green Roof
Foundation Design
Using seedum improves ecology impact and
reduces surface runoff acting as a buffer
and also provides additional insulation.
Ecoslate is made from 100% recycled PET plastic
offering better insulation than traditional slate and
ease of installation with solar panels. Tiles can be
Electricity and heating demands use renewable sources.
A south facing roof of 60m2 south facing roof with 30°
pitch provides optimum size and effectiveness for
installation of an 9kW PV system.
Rainwater Harvesting:
Collecting rainwater helps supplement and
reduce dependancy on mains water for
nonpotable uses. The house provides 125m2
collection area and stored in a large tank
effective for more than 3 weeks of drought.
moulded on curved surfaces and bond using the sun.
Wood Pellet Biomass Boiler
Our energy analysis estimaed a 16kW
boiler is required to meet peak heating
demand to supplement Solar Water
Foundations are made from Novacem carbon
negative cement; absorbing 100kg CO2 per
tonne. Wth similar performance and cost to
Portland cement. Foundation is based on a
heating. A biomass boiler provides a
carbon netural solution.
stiffened edge raft thicker at points of loading:
below loadbearing walls and columns.
Structural Design
The design uses modularised straw bales to act as
load bearing walls with steel column and beams for
further support. Conventional pitched roof trusses
made from fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) with the
Curved concentric “Armadillo roof” trusses created
using Glued laminated timber (GLULAM).
Floor Layout
The layout was inspired by Passivhaus design for
improving energy efficiency. The house features
two quarters for sleeping and living for noise
reduction featuring a large open plan living area
and curved window allowing for continuous light
throughout the day. Optimal daylight having east
facing bedroom plumbing. Utility and plant rooms
orientated to ensure convenient delivery access for
wood pellets.
Prefabricated Straw Bale Wall
Exterior walls constructed from modular prefabricated load
bearing compacted straw bales. Straw is locally sourced
and provides excellent thermal and sound insulation.
Site ecology
The site currently comprise of
predominately species-poor neutral
grassland and hedgerows. An external
ecologists
has
suggested
the
ecological impact of the site can be
improved by landscaping encouraging
biodiversity. Two green roofs also
improve the site ecology.
Daylight Modelling
Increasing daylight aims ‘to promote
good daylighting, improve quality of life
and reducing energy to light the home’.
Kitchens and Living spaces must
achieve a minimum average daylight
factor (DF) of 2% and 1.5% respectively
Triple Glazed Windows
'Passivhaus' design encourages large
south facing windows to increase 'solar
gain'. The floor behaves as thermal
mass storing solar energy and
dissipating heat throughout the day
reducing heating loads during Winter.
Lamb Wool Insulation
MVHR
The use of Mechanical Ventilation Heat
Recovery - MVHR enables the house with
a high air tightness to remove stale damp
air inside and replenshing with fresh, dry
outside air with minimal heat loss improving air quality for inhabitants.
Lambs wool is predominantly used
for insulation and provides 100%
natural and sustainable material
which
is
biodegradable
with
comparable thermal properties to
man made insulation.