Case Study: Henley Rise

Short Description

Henley Rise is SYHA’s model for future development. As an organisation we could see that future development proposals would need to change for us to provide fully sustainable, stable communities where people want to live. In particular we were concerned about the impact of rising fuel costs on the level of fuel poverty amongst our tenants. Our solution was to provide housing which crossed a number of different and previously disconnected policy areas. We decided to design homes with low heat load and also provide renewable technologies. Land was provided by Rotherham Borough Council and funding was levered in from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and the Regional Housing Board transformational fund.

Key Elements

Partnership Working

SYHA worked collaboratively with a number of public bodies & authorities to develop the scheme. Dissemination of the outcomes has taken the form of Seminars and Workshops to begin the process of improving knowledge and thereby efficiency in terms of design and procurement. Training of contractors and their sub-contractors formed part of the building works procurement package. Ongoing liaison with Sheffield Hallam University provides measurements and data. The local primary school was involved in the design of an adjacent Eco-park to provide a better understanding of environmental issues.

Thermal Insulation

All opaque building envelope elements insulated to 0.2w/m2K. Windows have low-e coated, argon filled double glazed units. Doors are steel faced composite insulated units with a U-value of 0.6w/m2K.

Air Tightness

No specific air permeability tests were carried out, however testing on houses with similar construction on other sites has shown air permeability rates of approx 5m3/hr/m2 @ 50Pa.

Windows and Shading

Windows comprising FSC certified timber with low-emissivity coated, argon filled double glazed units provided. Passive shading provided by orientating windows on East & West facing elevations to limit unwanted solar gains in summer.

Ventilation

All properties ventilated using humidity controlled passive stack ventilation systems.

Heating and Hot Water

Approximately 60% of hot water needs provided via solar thermal system. Additional hot water requirements met by high efficiency SEDBUK A-rated gas-fired boiler.

Cooling

Passive cooling systems provided. Cross ventilation is possible and there are no glazed areas on south facing elevations to minimise summer solar gains.

Solar Thermal

3 x 6m2 solar thermal arrays comprising 12 C21t solar thermal panels per property.

Solar Photovoltaic

17 x 3.02kWp arrays comprising 58 C21e photovoltaic panels per property.

6 x 3.75kWp arrays comprising 72 C21e photovoltaic panels per property.

Other Renewables

No other renewable energy sources were provided on this scheme, however a wind turbine was considered but agreeing a suitable location within the site prevented this from being progressed.

Electricity Saving Products

Energy efficient lighting products were used throughout the properties.

Water Saving

200 litre rainwater butts for garden irrigation provided.

Main Results

In general terms the Henley Rise development successfully met its main objectives. All properties have been assessed and certified as achieving an A-rating in terms of Energy Performance Certification and the renewable energy technologies are providing positive benefits in both financial & non-financial terms. For the purposes of the Code for Sustainable Homes, every property meets Level 5 (100% improvement over 2006 Building Regulations).

The development has also received recognition regionally (Sheffield Telegraph Environment Awards, RIBA White Rose Awards) and nationally (UK Timber in Construction Awards).

Feedback received following resident interviews carried out by Sheffield Hallam University has shown a very positive response from our new residents, with many using the opportunity of living in an “eco-house” to make other pro-environmental changes (recycling, increased use of public transportation, switching to paperless billing).

In terms of learning for the future, there remain a number of areas for improvement. More effective communication with residents will yield improved performance from the renewable technologies. Dealing with electricity suppliers has also been a frustrating element of the work, for both SYHA and our residents. Again, lessons have been learned to improve these matters on future schemes.

Lessons learned

• Renewable energy technologies can help reduce carbon emissions.
• Some residents have experienced financial and non-financial benefits.
• Living in eco-homes can give rise to pro-environmental behaviours.
• Information and guidance is essential.
• Needs to be targeted and personal.
• Provision of Carbon Coaching to assist with change management.
• Arrangements with electricity suppliers are complicated for homeowners to understand.
• Electricity suppliers’ call centres not equipped to deal with renewable technology enquiries.
• Provision of Smart meters would assist in maximising the benefits of the technologies.
• Supplying new electrical goods/appliances would assist in maximising the benefits of the technologies.
• Post-occupancy evaluations need to be undertaken to ensure anticipated outcomes are being achieved.
• An ongoing maintenance programme is required to maintain optimum performance.

Additional Information

SYHA’s have been actively disseminating the results of the work at Henley Rise. We believe it is vital that good practice and experience in delivering low carbon schemes is shared as widely as possible, with elements that don’t perform as well as expected being as important to know about as elements which do perform well.