NEW YORK: The six hundred and fifteenth entry for the seniors housing Global Awards for 2015 has been received.
Using plans from designers at Cardiff University in England, a zero carbon house has been completed in the town of Bridgend. Built for demonstration purposes, the home is within government guidelines for low income housing. The house will use some outside electricity in the winter, but its total solar output will more than offset the cold weather usage.
The house uses solar generation and battery storage to run both the combined heating, ventilation and hot water system and the electrical power system, which includes appliances, LED lighting and a heat pump. It has glazed solar photovoltaic panels fitted into the south facing roof. These reduce the cost of bolting on solar panels to a standard roof and allow the space below to be naturally lit. A solar air system preheats the ventilation air, which is also warmed by a warm water store.