Sustainability & Building Physics

It is in the measures that go beyond technological solutions that VELUX and HTA have sought to refine ideas of zero carbon housing. Our starting point was to maximise daylight which has many health and well being benefits. Through computer modelling we have achieved designs which have a minimum daylight factor of 5% for every room in the home – more than 3 times greater than that required by the Code for Sustainable homes in living spaces.

The VELUX Model Home 2020 UK project does not end with this approach to the internal environment. Instead of constructing the homes at a university or research park they are being built as part of a typical suburban masterplan for over 200 homes on the Charter Park development by Bovis, located in Rothwell near Kettering. Our design aims to maximise the internal area while making the best use of the site. We have used a sloping roof to allow the greatest amount of daylight into the dwelling and also collecting renewable heat with solar thermal panels integrated into the roof and facade. The homes meet Code Level 4 and will be monitored by HTA for a period of eighteen months with a family in occupation, thus enabling us to gauge the effectiveness of the design and the success of the design strategies.