On Thursday 14th August, HHP featured in a Radio 4 programme, ‘Dream Homes’ as part of the series ‘Costing the Earth’. Costing the Earth tells stories which touch all our lives, looking at man’s effect on the environment. It questions accepted truths, challenges the people in charge and reports on progress towards improving the world we live in.

The details below are taken from the Radio 4 website programme summary.

In this week’s Costing the Earth Miriam O’Reilly meets the pioneers to hear their tales of stiff-upper lips in the face of adversity. She hears of the council planning departments who would much rather you went away and bought a Wimpey home. She uncovers the terrible truth about solar-powered showers- they’re fine if you don’t mind a cold shower for six months of the year- and there’s a visit to Hockerton where fish and children happily swim in the waters that flow out of their reed-bed sewage system.

Work has started on a new earth-sheltered, self-built development in Hockerton, Nottinghamshire.  The two homes will be developed in a 1-acre field adjacent to the Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) site. Although planning was not straightforward permission has been achieved as a result of the clear environmental design and strong association with HHP.  This again represents the forward thinking nature of Newark & Sherwood District Council, who are clearly near the forefront of facilitating sustainable development in the UK.

The design is led by HHP project member/builder, Nick Martin, with significant input from the commissioning parties.

The earth-sheltered homes will be highly energy-efficient with super-insulation, high specification glazing and south facing conservatories designed to collect heat from solar radiation in colder months. The high thermal mass of the buildings combined with insulation means that the homes will be zero-heating, with all heating needs met by solar gain and incidental gains from living in the building. The homes will collect their own water using a rainwater collection system (FreeRain), and waste water will be treated on site via a reed bed system.

There will be close links with HHP including reciprocal assistance with land management, food-growing activities and maintenance of water and energy systems.

Hockerton Housing Project launched their new renewable energy systems by holding an event on Saturday 14th September with over 50 guests including locals, promoters and installers of renewable energy systems.

Professor Peter Smith (Sheffield Hallam University), who is Vice President for Sustainable Development(RIBA), was guest speaker at the event. Here is an extract from his speech.

…As I see it, Hockerton symbolizes the ultimate sustainable net zero energy solution in a rural setting…These are the cutting edge and prototypes for the future.

At present housing alone accounts for around 28% of all CO2 emissions in England and Wales. You [at HHP] have demonstrated that housing, far from being part of the problem, can be part of the solution. 

In 2002 HHP erected a 5kW wind turbine and installed a 7.65kW array of photovoltaics. The HHP wind turbine is one of very few examples in the UK of a community owned wind turbine, supplying owners directly with ‘clean’ renewable energy.

The HHP development meets a number of the highest environmental housing standards in the UK, namely, Zero CO2 and Autonomous.

Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) has erected a wind turbine to meet its energy needs. It is one of very few examples in the UK of a community owned wind turbine, whereby the owners are supplied directly with the ‘clean’ renewable energy produced. The occupants of houses have set out to meet both personal and global responsibilities to live in a more sustainable way. Wind energy is the most cost-effective and appropriate for the locality. The use of renewable energies in the daily running of the Hockerton Housing Project, demonstrates that ordinary families and individuals can take responsibility for and significantly reduce the output of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

The grid linked 5kW (rated output) Proven wind turbine erected on a 26m tower is expected to produce around 12,000kWhrs annually with the wind conditions on site. The grid link will allow for both import of energy during periods of supply shortfall, and export for periods of excess energy production. The excess exported will offset most of the imported energy from the grid. The energy generated will not only be used to provide energy to the homes, but also to power the jointly own electric car – a wind-powered car!

Due to the very low energy requirements of the homes at HHP (about 10% of an average UK home), it is expected that the energy generated by the wind turbine will offset the vast majority required by the occupants. Any remaining requirements will be met by planned use of Photovoltaics (solar energy). This means that the homes will hopefully not be responsible for any of the polluting ‘greenhouse gases’, notably CO2, identified as being responsible for global warming and climate change. This qualifies the HHP development as meeting a number of the highest environmental housing standards in the UK, namely, Zero CO2 and Autonomous.

HHP was awarded over £10,000 from ScottishPower’s Green Energy Fund towards the cost of installing the wind turbine. Hammy Smillie, ScottishPower’s business and community relations director, said: “Not only will this project be an excellent example of how to make use of renewable energy in the home, it will also give the families the opportunity to contribute towards helping the environment. On a practical level, by using renewable technologies as a power source, the Hockerton Housing Project will save money and set a leading example in the UK.”

The Project was filmed and broadcast in the same week in March by BBC ‘Countryfile’. The programme covered the project set up and how the houses are designed to minimise energy use. However they also focused on two other aspects:

(1)   The design principles of the homes at Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) as a potential solution to building more homes to a higher energy efficiency standard. A link was made to a local speculative development, Millenium Green, that HHP helped inspire to integrate much higher levels of energy efficiency. A spokesman from the Government’s Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme was also interviewed and invited to comment on the need for higher standards.

(HHP was monitored as part of the Governments’ Energy Efficient Best Practice Programme – A case study report was published last year)

(2)   Link to the Government announcement in same week to increased funding of £100m towards renewable energy.

The programme has produced one of the quickest and biggest responses that HHP has received after a media broadcast.