To comply with the UK's upcoming Government's Future Homes Standard, one construction company has drawn on the latest technology to create four new "Future Homes" — with more to follow.
Bellway, a homebuilding company with developments throughout the UK, is constructing the experimental houses at its Church View location in Callerton, Newcastle. The four dwellings are the company's pilot program for widespread eco-friendly construction in the future.
Everything about the homes is designed to reduce the use of electricity and dirty energy. Two of the houses have already been sold, with two more on the market.
All of the features that make the houses so eco-friendly are also attractive to potential buyers. The homes each come equipped with solar panels on the roof to supply a portion of electricity needs, thus lowering the houses' power bills while providing energy that doesn't pollute the environment.
The houses are built with extra insulation, including triple-glazed windows, to regulate the indoor temperature. This makes the homes cheaper to warm and cool, and it also means they'll have a smaller environmental impact because they won't have to use as much energy to stay at a comfortable temperature.
The actual heating systems are electric rather than gas-burning, cutting costs for the homeowner while also minimizing the heat-trapping gases produced by the house. The Predicted Energy Assessment for the homes — a way of measuring how energy efficient and eco-friendly they are before they're built — is 98 to 100 A, the highest possible score.
"The technological solutions these homes provide will enable buyers to monitor and manage their energy consumption, which we predict will help to reduce the impact of rising fuel prices while reducing the size of their own carbon footprints," Leanne Fletcher, Bellway's head of sustainability, told the Northern Echo.
"The launch of these Future Homes at Church View comes almost three years before the introduction of the Government's Future Homes Standard," Fletcher added, "demonstrating that Bellway is at the forefront of the industry's attempts to minimize its impact on the planet."
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