New Brighton eco apartments ‘a terrific example’ of going green
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New prestigious apartments, being launched in Brighton this summer, will save 15.4 tonnes of carbon emissions each year thanks to an innovative form of green energy heating.
‘Ocean Heights’ in Roedean overlooks Brighton Marina, and is being built by Brighton Construction. It has commissioned renewable energy specialist Stiebel Eltron to install an innovative ground source heat pump. The heat pump, being installed this week, will generate the heating and hot water for all seven apartments. (see heat pumps background below).
Brighton Construction director Jerry Vasse, said Ocean Heights’ is a terrific example of how buildings can become greener.
“It was vital to us that we built a set of apartments fit for the 21st century,” he said. “That means that they had to be energy efficient and not waste energy. Equally we wanted them to use the latest forms of green energy. We are passionate about sustainability and being environmentally friendly.”
Stiebel Eltron South East specification manager Neil Jimpson said the heat pumps in ‘Ocean Heights’ will help save residents money on energy bills.
“The beauty of Ocean Heights’ heat pump is that it will pay for itself within a matter of years in saved energy bills,” he said. “Critically this means the apartment owners will not be at the mercy of volatile oil and gas prices as well as saving 15.4 tonnes in Co2 emissions. But heat pumps are very much the future because they show there is a green alternative. When you consider heating is responsible for almost half of UK energy use and carbon emissions you can see how important heat pumps are in helping the UK go green.”
Ocean Heights architect Scott Theobold of Bold Architecture Design said the development deployed the latest eco design methods.
“Sustainability is at the heart of the Ocean Heights scheme,’ he said.”The ground source heat pumps supply underfloor heating and hot water to each flat via 100m deep bore holes. No gas boilers are required and the heating is also supplemented by heat recovery units. These units extract air from bathrooms and kitchens and heat up incoming fresh air to room temperature. In addition, rainwater is collected from roofs and hard standing areas and stored in a tank for use in outside taps for maintaining the gardens. WC flushes will also be supplied using recycled water.
“We’ve also used ICF, polystyrene formwork for in-situ concrete, construction which gives higher levels of insulation and air tightness to the building. The south facing orientation of the development helps heating too as in the winter the large areas of glazing capture sunlight and benefit from solar gains.”
Mr Jimpson said Stiebel Eltron had recently launched a free ‘one stop shop’ green energy advice service for Brighton and the South East. This includes offering to undertake a free energy efficiency survey of any residential or commercial premises.
“The report will examine the heat loss and heat demands of the building and detail a set of recommendations to slash energy bills and carbon emissions,” he said. “It will also detail the financial incentives for going green. There are a number of grants, tax breaks and Government incentives to help pay for renewable energy products. Grant schemes are available, for example, which can pay for up to half the cost of buying renewable products. Moreover VAT on renewable energy products is just 5pc and there is the Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme. Through this scheme organisations can write off the whole of the capital cost of their investment in green friendly technologies against their taxable profits.”
For further details contact: neil.jimpson@stiebel-eltron.co.uk Mob: 07894 483834
Heat pumps background
Heat pumps can make a significant contribution towards solving the problems associated with increasingly scarce and evermore expensive energy resources – supplying more energy than they consume by tapping into the freely available, inexhaustible solar energy stored in the ground or in the air around us. This energy from the environment can then be used for space heating and domestic hot water production.
Up to ¾ of the energy needed for space heating and domestic hot water production is extracted from the ground or the air, so the only energy required is the electricity needed to drive the heat pump compressor. To put it into figures: each kWh electrical energy spent generates up to 5 kWh available energy.
Whenever finite fossil fuels such as gas or oil are burnt, carbon dioxide is released. CO2 is the principle contributor to the greenhouse effect which is leading to long term climate change.
However as heat pumps extract as much as ¾ of their heating energy from the environment; building carbon emissions for heating can be dramatically reduced.
The Government is using legislation, tax breaks and incentives such as grants to encourage the reduction of CO2. Some of these are listed below.
Code for sustainable homes (SAP)
CERT ‘Carbon Emission Reduction Target’
BREEAM ‘Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method’
Part L & F of the Building Regulations
Home information Packs & Energy Performance Certificates.
The Code for Sustainable homes considers many points such as water use, ecology, and the materials used in construction. However weighted far higher than these is the need to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions. 36% of the points awarded to the building are assigned to energy consumption and CO2 emissions. It follows that heat pumps must be considered when considering the most cost effective way to comply with these planning regulations.
Heat Pumps can significantly reduce the cost of domestic heating and reduce yearly maintenance costs when compared to GAS and Oil boilers. Really significant savings can be achieved in ‘off gas’ areas. At least 10% of the UK population does not have easy access to mains Gas.
Ground Source Heat Pumps systems consist of a ground loop, linked to a heat pump and a heating system such as radiators or under floor heating. The ground loop can be either laid out horizontally or vertically depending on the space around the property. Horizontal ground loops require a relatively large area of land. Vertical ground loops are inserted into bore holes. They are ideal in locations where ground area is limited.
