New Low Energy House??

Jo4

We were intending to renovate our home but according to the architect it would cost us as much, if not more, to renovate than to build a new house. I have heard people saying that with a new build your household bills can be cheaper in the long term. You pay a lot in the beginning for these things but that they do pay for themselves over time. Like having a different roof, heating sytems ... Does anyone know anything about these products or where I can go to get more informaion? Has anyone got these products, are they any good or are they a waste of money?

Looking forward to your responses and THANKS in advance!

Annando

There was an exhibition in London, I think it finished today:
http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/

There was a program on TV a couple of years ago about solar panels / roof tiles that could produce electricity and be used for heating the house and general electricity use, I remeber there were substantial grants available. The company's name was Solar Century or something like that!

I would take your architect's advice with a pinch of salt. Destroying the old build might be very expensive, you never know what nasties you might find (asbestos etc...), talk to several architects, structural engineers and get different opinions! Renovating might also be less time consuming!

How old is your house and whereabouts are you? Does it have any major structural problems?

Jo4

Annando wrote:

There was an exhibition in London, I think it finished today:
http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/

There was a program on TV a couple of years ago about solar panels / roof tiles that could produce electricity and be used for heating the house and general electricity use, I remeber there were substantial grants available. The company's name was Solar Century or something like that!

I would take your architect's advice with a pinch of salt. Destroying the old build might be very expensive, you never know what nasties you might find (asbestos etc...), talk to several architects, structural engineers and get different opinions! Renovating might also be less time consuming!

How old is your house and whereabouts are you? Does it have any major structural problems?

The house was built a round 1900 and I live in Northern Ireland. It doesn't have any majpr structural problems that I am aware of but it is damp and small. It is an old Irish cottage.

Annando

HMMMM....
1900...it might not have a cavity wall so insulation will be a problem, you might loose space on the inside.
Does the damp start from the floor and rises about a meter or is it coming from above?

Jo4

Annando wrote:

Does the damp start from the floor and rises about a meter or is it coming from above?

Starts from the floor.

Annando

Sounds like it could be rising damp, usually solvable. You will have to check wether the structural timbers have been affected in any way. Check that there are no piles of earth or leaves etc... against the walls of the house, as this can lead to penetrating damp.
As I said before, get several architects, structural engineers and get their different opinions, from experience, unless you wish to build a huge extension, demolition is usually more expensive.

lynzpower

have a look at the carbon trusts websiste and defra's website as theres likely to be links for the grantmaking agencies for solar panels and other renewable sources.

Good luck

mummytofour

just to add that in the uk, not sure if it is the same I N.I that you dont pay VAT on materials on a new build, so the house is 17.5% cheaper.

[Deleted User]

JO4 Pm sent. We almost went the eco route but the houses were 6 miles from the nearest shop. Fantastic concept

The new build we are in now has a SAP rating of 106. New builds are very well insulated but we were so attracted to an active energy producing house

Jo4

mummytofour wrote:

just to add that in the uk, not sure if it is the same I N.I that you dont pay VAT on materials on a new build, so the house is 17.5% cheaper.

Yes it is the same here!

Jo4

kittie wrote:

JO4 Pm sent. We almost went the eco route but the houses were 6 miles from the nearest shop. Fantastic concept

The new build we are in now has a SAP rating of 106. New builds are very well insulated but we were so attracted to an active energy producing house

THANKS for the pm. What does the "SAP rating" mean?