Finding eco-homes...

squerble

squerble

squerble

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13 Apr 2009
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Hey all,

Keeping an eye on the future, I think I'd like us to move house at some point in the future to a place that is "properly" designed and built, that has:
  • Extremely good insulation
  • UFH, upstairs and downstairs, with ASHP/GSHP
  • Solar
  • Batteries
It doesn't need to be down to the "passive house" standards, but just a house that incorporates these technologies (and maybe more). However, it seems that houses are currently only being built like this as a pilot program in certain areas. Does anyone know of a website or service that offers a one-stop place to find developers doing this? Right now it seems like I'd just have to sit Googling and checking out each and every new housing development in my area and see if I can find if they're building houses to the above requirements.
 
Ultimately I don't think such a webiste would exist as until developers are forced into reaching those higher standards since they're looking to spend as little as they can to maximise their profits. Whilst the new regulations that have come into play (June 2022 in England and Wales with Scotland following in February since the software wasn't fixed in time for December) have firmed up the reliance on a heat pump for heating and hot water the need for solar and battery storage is still a couple of years away at leat (I've been told through Building Standards that the current regs are in place till 2024 / 2025 and there will be another jump towards 'Net Zero')

Have you tried looking for plots for sale in your area / within commuting times and builidng yourself? That way you get everything you want in your house budget allowing! The only thing to watch out for is with a self build mortgage unless you can fund it all yourself is that these are typically around 60% borrowing as its more of a risk however I'm sure there was some info on a fund available which allows a larger amount of borrowing for a self build.

EDIT

first hit on google

not necessarily exactly what you're looking for but a good start perhaps
 
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If you want something built to above current building regs specs you're going to have to build yourself, virtually no developer is going to pay more money than they have to when building a house, they'll meet the current regs but will almost never exceed them as that's just money down the toilet to them.

When we built our own house our builders kept saying "we've never put this much insulation into a house before!" even though they were in the middle of building some quite nice executive houses the next town over to a very nice standard. If you want all the nice stuff you need to get in early enough buying off plan and then try and increase the spec or just go the whole hog and build your own if you've got a vision of what you want from a house.
 
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It's good people are asking these questions as I hope it'll significantly differentiate my house when I come to sell (post all the insulating work).
 
Have you tried typing eco houses for sale into a search engine?? There are websites that cover this....
 
I'd suggest looking at a 'fixer upper' that's £50k under your budget, and then use the extra money to do all of those things to it.
 
There are plenty of small scale developments with much better insulation and eco-credentials all over the country, but no - no single website to find them unfortunately.

You'd want to spend the time researching them individually anyway... ? It's not like you're just going to buy one without doing that.
 
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sovietspybob said:
If you want something built to above current building regs specs you're going to have to build yourself, virtually no developer is going to pay more money than they have to when building a house, they'll meet the current regs but will almost never exceed them as that's just money down the toilet to them.

When we built our own house our builders kept saying "we've never put this much insulation into a house before!" even though they were in the middle of building some quite nice executive houses the next town over to a very nice standard. If you want all the nice stuff you need to get in early enough buying off plan and then try and increase the spec or just go the whole hog and build your own if you've got a vision of what you want from a house.
Click to expand...

This plainly isn't true as there are hundreds of smaller developers building houses on smaller scales (from single houses to hundreds in some cases) to a variety of standards, all the way to PassivHaus and beyond, as there is demand for these properties which is only going to increase in the current climate.
 
Prefab, factory built houses can be very cost effective and extremely efficient. You could quite easily get a passive haus straight out the factory.
Sourcing and buying the land is another thing though. I’d suggest making some enquiries with some land agents and having a friendly conversation with them.
That being said, there are developments going on that are passive haus. They won’t be hundreds or even tens but they are around.

Edit: I realise you’re not looking for ultra effiency but this proves the point:

Low Energy Buildings Projects

passivhausbuildings.org.uk passivhausbuildings.org.uk
 
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I'm a smaller house developer. I'm going 25% better on current standards for insulation & ASHP in our new builds. I'd have loved to go the whole way & have gone PV & batteries as well, but we wanted to go better in every other areas than the crap the nationals build.
 
Look for "custom build" developments - there's a few site around where you can spec some of the stuff, unfortunately developer led housing generally is difficult to make stack up so you find the spec is limited - new housing association and council housing is about the only volume stuff where they can afford to build to a good spec.
Really with your wishlist you'd be as well to find a site and build your own!
 
FISHGUTS said:
I'm a smaller house developer. I'm going 25% better on current standards for insulation & ASHP in our new builds.
Click to expand...
How do you characterise the energy efficiency of your houses ... what calculation should I expect to see as a buyer.
Insulation qualities plus information on the air tightness and air change assumptions seem to be where it's at.

eg.

jpaul said:
ht
a 1985 build would suggest you are optimistic on walls/windows
Click to expand...
 
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