SEED Homes at a glance
A simple way to build sustainable and affordable houses.
We have developed a way of using native soft wood to produce super-insulated structural panels. We can build quickly and with low embodied energy by using sustainable, local materials. We have now built a full size prototype, a 3 bedroom house and a school boarding house.
Our experience building the 3 bedroom house allows us to make the following claims:
- Carbon emissions are 73% lower than for a standard house
- It uses 50 % less water.
- Most of the materials are locally sourced and 98% of them can be recycled.
- Minimal synthetics, chemicals and adhesives used.
- Manufacturing and construction has all used local labour.
- This is still all for the Local Govt. price of an affordable home.
Certification and Standards:
| Code for Sustainable Homes: | Level 4 (69 points TBC) |
| BS standard: | Currently in testing |
| Building Regulations: | Exceeded. |
Performance:
| Insulated wall panel: | U Value 0.13 W/m²k |
| Glazing: | U value 1.8 W/m²k |
| Energy use: | Predicted SAP rating 81 (out of 100, very good!) |
| Water use: |
Grey water from rainwater harvesting throughout |
| Heating: | Underfloor heating from District Bio-mass system |
| Ventilation: | All natural (non-mechanical stack) |
| Recyclability: | 98% |
| Carbon Footprint: | -16 tonnes |
| Dwelling emission rate: | 72.91% better than Building Regulations |
Materials:
| Timber: | Welsh Spruce C 16 Grade dried to 20% moisture |
| Insulation: | Warmcell 500 recycled cellulose – 60kg p/m3, manufactured in Wales |
| Steel nail plates: | Wolf System, Coventry |
| Base: | Insulated Cemex eco-concrete floor |
| Roo: | Corus 32/1000 profiled steel |
| Glazing: | Pilkington Low E double glazed K units |
| Window & Door Frames: | Welsh FSC softwood. |
Construction time:
| Fabrication: | Fforest Timber Engineering, Swansea: 2 days |
| Groundworks: | Brownfield site works: 12 weeks |
| Erection of panels: | 2 days |
| Fitting out and completion: | 20 weeks |
Full building price: < £1,300 p/m2
-- SEED Homes, February 2010
