CorpComms Magazine

One of the most comprehensive studies yet undertaken into the future of sustainable housing has been launched by the Good Homes Alliance.

The study will monitor houses across four different sustainable developments in York, Brighton, Somerset and Sunderland to identify the 'best methods' for sustainable house building.

There is growing concern that sustainable houses are not living up to their developers' ambitions, with recent research revealing a gap of 50-100 per cent between design intent and actual performance. The results of this study due to be published in autumn 2011 should give developers an insight into which design features best reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability.

There will be two stages to the assessment. Firstly, the energy efficiency of the dwelling will be measured prior to occupation to see how well the fabric of the house meets initial design expectations. At the second stage, people will move in and data will be collected on energy and water use, insulation and temperature, air quality and the performance of carbon cutting technologies. The occupants will also be given an extensive questionnaire, to provide feedback about how the homes are being used.

Malcolm Bell, professor of surveying and sustainable housing at Leeds Metropolitan University, said: 'The monitoring project represents the front line in the drive for real low carbon homes. Too many developers are promoting themselves as builders of low carbon homes but do not have a clue as to whether the homes they build actually perform in practice.

'This project will provide 'warts and all' feedback so that mistakes and successes are recognised and turned into genuine improvements in design and construction. Without the valuable feedback that projects such as this provide, zero carbon homes will be just another pipe dream.'

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