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The youngsters from Park View Primary learn about human impact on the environment as part of their schooling so the developers ran a competition to name their latest show home.
The winner was year 5 student, Ben Crocker, who came up with the name Green House. As the winner he was invited to plant a fruit tree in the garden of the Heywood Road home he named before the rest of his class put their eco-knowledge to the test in an environment quiz with Michaela.
When it came to environmental issues such as re-cycling and energy efficiency, Michaela was surprised at just how much the children knew.
It was heart-warming to see the idealism of youth, wanting to make a difference. Sadly, for most adults, ideology so often has to give way to financial practicalities.
To Adapting many existing homes with renewable energy features is currently not economical as the pay back for installation on money saved in energy bills could, in some cases, take a decade.
However, Adrian Green, as project manager for ID’s Heywood Road development, insists that when it comes to new building, using environmentally friendly building materials doesn’t have to cost more and it will incur huge savings to the owner in terms of energy bills.
“We have found that what you spend extra on the materials you get back in terms of less time spent on site because the modern methods of construction are less labour intensive,” he explains.
Efficient
“What we’ve developed here are very practical four bedroom houses that are efficient to run and we estimate savings for the spend on fuel for an average family to be about £200 to £400 a year on gas and £180 to £200 a year on electricity.”
There are 10 houses in the scheme, all three storey four bedroom properties which look from the outside like traditional brick town houses.
Each is designed to achieve the Buildings Research Establishment’s Eco Homes ‘excellent’ standard, which covers all aspects of the development including energy use, pollution, access to local amenities, construction materials, water use and health and well-being.
To ensure minimum heat loss the interior walls are built using structural insulated panels. The need for high heating bills is then further reduced by the inclusion of an A-rated condensing boiler, and, more specifically, a heat recovery system, which works by extracting heat from the kitchen and bathroom and circulating into other rooms in the house.
The centre for the system itself is quite bulky, but placed at the far end of the garage it is not an aesthetic issue for the home. It works through ceiling fans which sound obtrusive, but in practise are small cream circular vents about 10cm diameter which do not make the whirring noise familiar with traditional extractor fans.
“What is great about this system is not only is it energy efficient but it also filters the air, removing pollen and dust etc before it recirculates the air, so it is good for people with allergies,” says Adrian. “It is the most efficient air conditioning you can get but it doesn’t use electricity to do the job.”
Other energy efficient features include water restricted radiators and low energy lighting. The homes are also fitted with either solar panels or a domestic wind turbine, which can provide up to 30 per cent of energy requirements.
Other features to encourage less waste include an integrated double waste bin for recycling, bathroom and kitchen taps with flow restrictors and toilet with dual flush to save water.
“The stylish look and feel of our homes proves that eco homes don’t necessarily mean boring and unattractive boxes,” Adrian adds. “We wanted to offer home hunters the opportunity to live in an attractive yet highly efficient property that would provide a sustainable future for its owner.”
Inspired Developments’ eco homes on Heywood Road, Prestwich went on sale this week from £245,000. There are three houses currently available with the remaining seven being released this summer. For details visit id4living.com
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