These were the first Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH) Level 5 dwellings designed and built for L&H Homes and were just two credits off achieving Level 6. Designed using ‘Fabric First’ principles to improve the Fabric Energy Efficiency, these properties have a reduced heating demand therefore limiting the potential for fuel poverty. The site was previously occupied by a surface car park and the area was in much need of regeneration.

The car park was owned by West Lindsey District Council, a partner within the project and the land availability and financial support of the Council was an important part of making the project a success. West Lindsey District Council utilised a grant from the Department of Communities and Local Government as well as substantial section 106 funds for affordable housing in order to make the scheme possible.

The project team have now completed the final year of the performance monitoring in use. This article details the final results, findings and insights to help build better, more efficient homes for tenants that last into the future; ahead of new changes to the Building Regulations focusing on Fabric Energy Efficiency (FEEs).

The collaborative ethos present throughout the project was key to delivering an exceptional scheme, ultimately providing better, more sustainable homes for tenants. Early engagement of the contractor who had experience of delivering similar highly sustainable schemes enabled design solutions to be developed to meet the sustainable requirements.

Areas of success

The fabric first approach reduced the amount of complicated technologies incorporated into the building to achieve the high levels of sustainability required for the Code. This approach helps to tackle the growing problem of fuel poverty.

SIPs were used in construction to form the walls and roof to provide superior thermal and air tightness performance. Internal walls were produced using timber frame. A carefully planned build and lifting schedule enabled the SIP structure to be completed from sole plate to practical completion inside a three-week time period. This rapid schedule was designed to minimise disruption to the local residents.

The team achieved an excellent score of 37/40 in the independent Considerate Constructors Scheme assessment. This was only possible due to the engagement with the local community, consideration to the environment and safe working practices.

The project partners agreed the desired outcomes from the development at the outset and put in place a clear framework to deal with any variation or issues that arose, which worked well in the delivery of a successful project.

The collaborative nature of the project has enabled the project team to identify opportunities for improvement, to build smarter homes for tenants in the future, including:

• Better tenant education and induction to the mechanical and electrical installations; potentially on-line video demonstrations of the gas boiler with better MVHR and PV instructions. This could potentially further enhance performance in use.
• With warmer summers expected, the next challenge facing the industry will be to keep homes cool in the summer, in the same manner as they have stayed warm in the winter.

The collaborative ethos of the project continues post completion with the results and performance monitoring data being shared across the industry to build smarter spaces for life.

The Monitoring process

Innovate UK is a government funded organisation, that has funded over 100 domestic and non-domestic projects across the UK in 2 phases. Only eight projects received phase 1 and phase 2 funding. This funding will enable the project team to understand how tenants live in and use their homes and see if the buildings perform as predicted.

The overall results of the Cross Street project demonstrates that the properties are performing better than the average home in the UK.

• 65% reduction on average in heat demand compared to an average home in the UK
• 70% reduction in gas bills
• 30% reduction in electricity bills
• 20% reduction in water consumption

Two years on, the results of the Cross Street project demonstrates that the properties are performing above and beyond the average UK house. A major challenge for this project has been to get buy in from everyone and retrain new colleagues involved with these properties, as these homes are the first built to Code level 5 in the West Lindsey District Council area and for L&H Homes.

Tenant education has been key, as the team has seen an improvement in energy use as the tenants have become more aware of how and when they are using energy compared to their neighbours. The real success of the project can be seen in the positive comments from tenants, the warm temperatures recorded during winter and the low energy bills.

Monitoring lessons learned

Construction lessons learned

• Quality of the construction achieved excellent results in the performance of the building compared to how it was designed. Such quality measures included pre-plaster air tests to highlight any defects that could be rectified prior to plaster works.
• Highly sustainable homes do not need large amount of ‘bolt on’ technologies to achieve the required levels of Code. Investing in the fabric early and monitoring the fabrics performance at key stages of the build i.e. pre-plaster air tests enabled any defects in the fabric to be identified and rectified.

Client lessons learned

• Getting everyone on board at the earliest opportunity, to dispel any fears and design out any issues.
• Sustainable developments are proving that they can save the occupants money and are beginning to receive higher valuations.
• Each building’s performance has been greatly influenced by the occupants and how they use their homes.
• These properties have multiple benefits to the tenants due to their location close to amenities such as shops, schools and public transport links. This reduces tenant’s carbon footprint and expenditure through not requiring a car. The homes are improving health and wellbeing not just by the fabric of the property, but location.

Tenant lessons learned

• The MVHR systems do not cool houses in the summer.
• Being part of the monitoring study has been very useful and helped the tenants to see exactly how much water, gas and electricity they have used and when.
• The stable internal conditions have helped to improve the health of the tenants.

Diane Starkey, Longhurst Group Sustainability Design Officer comments: “We are very pleased with the excellent efficiency results of this award-winning project. The user-friendly technologies are helping residents to save money on energy bills, and feedback from the tenants living in the houses has been extremely positive. It has been enormously beneficial to monitor these properties to understand how they have performed against tenant comments.”

Mat Colmer, Lead Technologist – Low Impact Buildings, at Innovate UK adds: “Building sustainable homes requires collaboration to achieve success. With this project bringing new learning for Robert Woodhead, sustainable dwellings for Longhurst Group and a better quality of housing for the residents of these homes.”