ZERO CARBON HOUSE

I walked to the Open Day at John, Jo and Theo's zero carbon house this morning. I would have liked to encourage everyone who reads this to make sure that they visit the house as well, but the visit ended at 4 p.m., and I expect that it will be last time for an open invitation event, as they will start to move in next week.

The publicity for the Open Day states "No more fuel bills", and this should be a reality for a least a few years. The time limit is not due to an expected reduction in efficiency, but due to a need during the coldest weeks of the year, probably six or seven weeks, when there will be a boost from a wood burning stove. They have enough wood, from trees from their garden, to last them for five to six years. After that there will be a cost to get more wood on site.

You can read about the features of the house, which achieve this remarkable reduction in carbon emissions, on the website. I will just mention a few features.

It is quite cold today, with a strong wind, but the house was very snug. This demonstrated the effectiveness of the insulation and that the house has no draughts.

This house's Insulation is in a different league from normal references to cavity wall or loft insulation. It has been improved by a factor of 14 using compressed clay blocks, insulation from recycled newspaper and a finish of lime plaster, containing glass ground from recycled bottles.

"No draughts" is also an under statement : the house is almost air tight, 28 times better than an average house. There is a ventilation system with a fan and heat exchanger.

When you approach the house, you can see the array of Photo Voltaic panels that provide electricity. The excess electricity created on clear days will be sold to the "grid" and bought back on cloudy days. Water is warmed by solar panels and the hot water store is large enough to provide water for two to three days.

The technical achievements are impressive - so too are the design achievements. This is architecture to lift the spirit. I'm sure that there will be more publicity about this house, not just because it is the first solid wall, 19th century house in the UK to achieve Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, but because it is inspirational in a much wider context.