For the thermal imaging tomorrow, the internal temperature of the properties needs to be at least 10 degrees celsius greater than the external temperature. Given that the vacant property has been unoccupied for at least two weeks and therefore unheated, this poses a bit of a problem, as it is currently colder inside than outside – when we went in there today it was 10 degrees inside, and about 13 outside!
This problem was further exacerbated by the fact that the gas supply has been disconnected – not a long-term problem as we’re removing the gas central heating system as a part of the retrofit – but it would have been nice to be able to whack on the gas boiler overnight in such a thermally poor property.
So we had to resort to electricity. A minor problem was that there was a £50 debt on the keycard meter, so we had to pop down to the local Post Office to clear that and add some credit to cover our heating need. It was then time for an electric heater amnesty at Hockerton (OK, the secret’s out; even we heat our houses occasionally. But with the sun being strong for at least the last week our houses are now back up to 20+ degrees internally, and the heaters are well and truly back in storage for at least another 8 months).
So having rounded up about 20kW capacity of heaters, our next problem was that the house only has two ring mains (the kitchen and the rest of the house), each with a capacity of 8kW, so we couldn’t even deploy them all!
Anyway, we got about 12kW of heat output running at about 2pm, so hopefully by 10am in the morning the temperature inside the house will be 10+ degrees above that outside; I’ll be there early to check though …
Here’s a quick video of the heaters in action; apologies for the poor video quality – a new camera and a new operative – but I promise the video quality will improve!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R15PXY2mw6E]
HHP is improving the energy efficiency of a pair of semi-detached houses on the Hawtonville estate, in Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire.
The retrofit is a partnership project between Hockerton Housing Project (HHP), consultants and lead contractors, and Newark and Sherwood Homes (NSH) the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) for Newark and Sherwood District Council, and the social landlord for the properties.
The retrofit project is being funded under the Technology Strategy Board’s Retrofit for the Future Competition, aimed at finding innovative ways to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of existing housing.
Here are the two houses we’ll be retrofitting, aiming to deliver an 80% + reduction in CO2 emissions, along with visualisations of what they will look like when complete.
More details of how we’re going to do it, and regular progress updates will be posted here, so sign up to follow our progress.
On 6th October we were visited by one of our local MEPs (Member of European Parliament) for East Midlands, Phillip Whitehead.
Philip Whitehead wrote back to Councillor Stan Crawford (leader, Newark & Sherwood District Council), who had organised the day, “The range of projects you are nurturing and the foresight and enthusiasm displayed by all those involved does you great credit.”
This visit is more important perhaps than it might seem at face value. In many ways we in the UK are lagging behind many other European countries in terms of sustainable development and use of renewable technologies. Let’s hope Newark & Sherwood allow the momentum to continue by supporting future sustainable development proposals
HHP has recently been the subject of a new Government publication (part of ‘Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme’): –
New Practice Profile (119) -The Hockerton Housing Project – design lessons for developers and clients
In our opinion this is a useful report. It covers project features & house construction, energy consumption, monitoring the internal environment, and design lessons.
It concludes – “The houses at Hockerton are a successful experiment in low-energy design. They are attractive and pleasant to live in, although some occupants had some complaints. The design of the site enables a sustainable lifestyle with self-sufficiency in water and food while also providing a high level of amenity for the occupants. The houses were built at a comparable cost to conventional housing, although the self-build element of the work distorts comparisons. Many of the elements of the housing could be replicated in more mainstream developments….”
The complaints referred to were minor and in the context of the whole project insignificant.
This report is now one of three publications on the project.
