The council’s first net zero carbon homes are about to be completed. These six new homes at Auckland Road and Windmill Close in Caterham on the Hill are a step towards reducing the council’s carbon footprint and promoting environmentally friendly living.
The new homes will soon be occupied by people from the council’s housing register and, most importantly for those residents, the zero carbon measures should help to keep down their energy bills.
The homes feature:
- 100% low energy lighting: ensuring efficient and sustainable lighting.
- Low-emissivity (Low-E) glazing: minimising heat loss and maximising energy savings.
- Mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR): improving air quality and energy efficiency.
- Enhanced building fabric: providing superior insulation and thermal performance.
- Air source heat pumps: offering a renewable energy solution for heating and hot water.
- Photovoltaic panels: using solar energy to power the homes.
This is just the start. All the new council homes we are building are being designed with the aim of being net zero carbon. We use energy consultants to work with the architects to achieve this and, so far, we have not had any problems with delivering them as net zero. We have a current approved programme for 200 new council homes and aim to build more. These will be added to the council’s existing stock of 2,580 homes.
Funding for net zero carbon homes
There is no specific funding in relation to net zero carbon for new build homes. However, when the council bids for grant money from Homes England (the government’s homes and regeneration agency), we highlight net zero carbon as a benefit to justify the higher build costs and therefore grant levels requested. We have recently received confirmation of a Homes England grant for £130,000 for Auckland Road and £195,000 for Windmill Close.
As for upgrading and retrofitting our existing stock, in March this year the council made a successful bid to the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and was awarded £849,000 of funding.
This fund was set up to improve the energy efficiency of socially rented homes. It covers several upgrades to heating, including new heating systems, energy efficient doors and windows and upgraded insulation.
If you have any comments/questions, please get in touch via: Cllr.Catherine.Sayer@tandridge.gov.uk
