In line with this year’s energy saving week (Jan 15th-21st), North Midlands and Yorkshire based housebuilder Harron Homes is getting zero carbon ready thanks to a range of energy-efficient measures introduced to all properties built to its latest specification. With these advancements, homeowners will be able to keep their emissions even lower.
New homes are already well established as being more energy efficient than their older counterparts, emitting an average of just 1.4 tonnes of carbon a year, less than half of the 3.6 tonnes of an older property.*
But Harron has since done even more towards future-proofing its latest homes. In anticipation of the Future Homes Standard, which comes into effect in 2025, the housebuilder has introduced a range of new energy-efficient measures for its newest specification homes.
Among the new measures are:
- Higher levels of insulation throughout the property and higher-performing insulation where needed
- The use of aircrete blocks to help retain beneficial heat while simultaneously lowering the risk of summer overheating
- Thermal Bridging technology such as thermally broken lintels, which reduce a significant source of heat loss
- Energy efficient lamps installed in every light-fitting
- Natural ventilation via efficient decentralised extractor fans
- Sufficient glazing to make use of natural passive daylight for light and warmth
Of value when it comes to energy efficiency will be the new air source heat pumps installed at all Harron’s newest properties.
Heat pumps work by taking in outdoor air and converting it into indoor heat. When used correctly, these heat pumps operate at efficiencies of 300-400%, with their carbon performance expected to reach optimal efficiency once the national grid decarbonises.
Both the Climate Change Committee and the UK Government have cited air source heat pumps as the preferred solution to low carbon heating from 2025 onwards, when new connections to the gas grid are expected to stop.
Harron is also installing Ohme ePod car charger points at all its new properties. Ohme’s dynamic smart chargers can connect with the national grid in real time and adjust their charging, allowing drivers to take advantage of low-price charging with smart off-peak tariffs.
Ohme was recently named by outside investors as a ‘gigacorn’ – a company that has the potential to get rid of one gigatonne of CO2 from the atmosphere per year.
Alison Taylor-Shaw, Sales and Marketing Director for Harron Homes Yorkshire said, “At Harron, we design our homes with the customer in mind, utilising modern technology to make the home more energy efficient. We’ve always had modern design in mind, so we see the Future Homes Standard as a natural evolution of our long-established approach to building high quality homes”.
For more information on Harron Homes and to find your nearest development across the North, East and West of Yorkshire, please visit https://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/ and contact the sales office or visit your local development in person to find out more.
