Help me green my new build house!

abomb1969

I am to start building my 6 bed house including basement. I am keen to add any element of eco building that saves me money. Anything I spend on my house will cost double when you take a mortgage into account over 25 years so we are looking carefully at:

Rainwater harvesting, saves £7 per week costs £3k.
Solar hot water heating, saves 75% of domestic hot water heating costs, costs £3k.

We looked at ground source heat pumps (very expensive).

We are trying to go for passive heat gain from the conservatory, and we are using under floor heating with a gas boiler.

Any other tips?

tr3mor

Bear in mind that the benefits from having a house that's cheap to run when you're retired will be handy!

First thing is to make sure that the house is very well insulated. And get some decent windows, not cheap and nasty UPVC.

What type of construction are you going for?

Cardew

abomb1969 wrote: »

I am to start building my 6 bed house including basement. I am keen to add any element of eco building that saves me money. Anything I spend on my house will cost double when you take a mortgage into account over 25 years so we are looking carefully at:

Rainwater harvesting, saves £7 per week costs £3k.
Solar hot water heating, saves 75% of domestic hot water heating costs, costs £3k.

We looked at ground source heat pumps (very expensive).

We are trying to go for passive heat gain from the conservatory, and we are using under floor heating with a gas boiler.

Any other tips?

There is no way Solar hot water heating saves 75% of domestic hot water heating - 50% at best if you have a large system and with Gas would it be worth the capital outlay? Savings of what £50 to £75pa? See

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=429297

How do you calculate £7 a week(£364pa) for rain water harvesting? You can use it for the Garden and if you rig up a system to flush toilets. Unless you have a market garden I would not think you would save more than pence per week.

thriftyjo

Have a look here http://www.greenbuildingpress.co.uk/

03022242

hi forget the gadgets why not: superinsulate your house, choose the most efficient appliance, and switch over from your petrol/diesel car to an LPG one, which saves 50% compared with petrol

as for solar water heaters it may save up to 75% in the summer months but you may only get 10% in the winter months!

abomb1969

Our house is 100 feet from the A1(M) and there is a lot of road noise so we are building the house out of block/block or brick/block depending on our external finish, with beam and block floors at g/f and f/f levels. The basement will be poured concrete. Timber frame has better u values but we want high levels of sound insulation, in fact the planners require we hit 30db inside which is very quiet, an equivalent of a whisper at 3 feet, and we might have to triple glaze.

tr3mor

abomb1969 wrote: »

Our house is 100 feet from the A1(M) and there is a lot of road noise so we are building the house out of block/block or brick/block depending on our external finish, with beam and block floors at g/f and f/f levels. The basement will be poured concrete. Timber frame has better u values but we want high levels of sound insulation, in fact the planners require we hit 30db inside which is very quiet, an equivalent of a whisper at 3 feet, and we might have to triple glaze.

I've heard good things about "aircrete" blocks. They're like concrete blocks, except made from 75% recycled ash, and much lighter. They're also supposed to be a better insulator.

You could go for an external slab type insulation beneath your rendering (if you're thinking of render). Would obviously help keep the place warm and cut down on noise.

Obviously get some good cavity wall and loft insulation too.

cazrobinson

lots of insulation, south facing, heavy curtains/thick shutters to retain heat?

i hate to think how much we spend on heating!

for noise and pollution minimisation try planting hedges,trees, tall plants to soak up noise, polution and create a sensory division between you and the road. consider planting herbs, kitchen garden close to the house for fresh and local. make space for washing line and pulleys.

also, finishes: thick bedcovers, hardwood floors (sweep instead of using a vacumn cleaner), consider natural lighting, use a can-of-worms and make space in the kitchen for recycling boxes/dustbin (i think normally gets forgotten in most kitchens), use a cold-store kitchen pantry instead of fridge.

how exciting - i love watching grand designs!

good luck!

terence8888

Exciting project... having done a house relatively recently, I regret not looking at the green issues more closely from the start. Some thoughts:

I think you covered the two areas which I would have done.

Insulation is a priority. Don't forget to draft proof the doors from the outside.

Lighting also uses a lot of enery - problem is that energy efficient light is normally non-dimmable... it's a pain! Ceiling lightwell is probably a good idea. For outside security lights, I use daylight switch (dusk-to-dawn) on energy saving lights - flourencent and LED.

One green initiative we took is that we did not replace the tumble dryer after it broke down - drying your clothes naturally saves a lot of enery. But if you have the space it's best to have a didicated room.

Have you thought about recycling of "grey" water? My idea would be to collect waste water from your sinks/bath/shower/washing machine (obviously not the toilets) into an underground tank. This water can be pumped out for the garden. The problem with rainwater is that you get little during the summer (like the last one) when you most needed it and vice versa. You should be able to get a discount from your water company on your waste water disposal bill (typically 50% of your waterbill if you have not notice).

Also ventilation is important for keeping cool in the summer.

More esoteric is things like heat exchanger to recycle warm air (not sure how effective). See Axiel-Vent's website.

My 2p worth! Good luck! Email me if you want to take it offline.

tr3mor

terence8888 wrote: »

Lighting also uses a lot of enery - problem is that energy efficient light is normally non-dimmable... it's a pain! Ceiling lightwell is probably a good idea. For outside security lights, I use daylight switch (dusk-to-dawn) on energy saving lights - flourencent and LED.

With this in mind, don't be tempted to use hundreds of downlighters like some house builders. Rooms such as kitchens can end up using 500 watts or more, just on lights.

Check all the appliances you intend on installing to make sure they are the most efficient versions.

See if you can get some controls fitted to your underfloor heating, so you only heat the rooms you are using at the time you use them.

cazrobinson

also think of a nice sheltered spot for dinner alfresco!

very important!