First Tours of Sustainable Housing Development

THE FIRST viewing tours of a smart homes, net zero carbon emitting housing development have taken place ahead of homeowners taking possession at the end of the month.

Genesis Homes opened the first homes that are part of the EcoGen pilot project – 16 homes fully powered by renewable energy sources and managed by smart technology.

Work on the homes in the Cumbrian village of Calthwaite as part of the Pennine View development is now close to completion.

Nicky Gordon, Managing Director of Genesis Homes, said: “Thousands of hours of research, development, meetings and execution have gone into making the EcoGen project a reality. This is not tokenism – this is Genesis Homes going all out to create one of the UK’s most advanced and sustainable net zero living housing developments.

“The first official completion on our EcoGen site comes at a time when energy costs and the climate crisis are front and centre of everyone’s minds.

“Receiving first-hand feedback about the homes and seeing people’s positive reactions has demonstrated to the team that this project will have a wide ranging impact on sustainable housing in the UK.”

First Tours of EcoGen Homes

During the tour of the EcoGen homes, visitors were able to witness how the smart technology within the property works and how it will help remove the use of carbon emissions around the household.

Each property includes:

• Solar photovoltaic panels on the roof creating energy from daylight
• A solar assisted heat pump, powered by a thermodynamic panel, which provides hot water storage
• A small, powerful battery unit that will be charged predominantly from the electricity grid, using 100% green tariff energy, during off-peak, low-cost hours
• Infrared heating panels which convert electricity into radiant heating in each room
• Electric vehicle charging points to encourage home buyers to switch to electric transport
• A smart home system managed through an integrated app which allows the management of the house technology, from thermostats, to battery and energy usage, and scheduling of vehicle charging.

Smart Technology

Emico brought together the partners providing the different smart technology components to the home. John Currie, the company’s business director said: “Working with Genesis Homes, this project presented an opportunity to use our expertise in electrical energy fields to reshape the way developers build their houses in a sustainable way and give homeowners a more sustainable way of living without compromising the way they live.

“It has been a really exciting project to work on and the positive reactions from people seeing how this home will work for the first time hasn’t surprised me in the slightest.”

Funding

Four of the 16 homes have been designated as affordable housing to help buyers get on the property ladder and Eden District Council provided funding to ensure these homes have the same sustainability levels as the rest of the development.

Eden Councillor Judith Derbyshire, said: “The Eden Valley has one of the highest rates of fuel poverty due to it being rural, having older properties and an aging population, so anything that can be done to tackle this is a good thing.

“This project is particularly pleasing as it is making sure that newer properties are up to a good standard, energy bills aren’t as much as before and it’s helping to save the planet.”

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