175 Solartwin solar water heating panels are being installed on Code 3 new build properties c/o Bournville Village Trust and developer Kier Partnership Homes. Read more about here about Bournville Village Trust (and the Solartwin news features in all the latest editions of Northern Housing, Midlands Housing and Southern Housing magazines.)

The Code for Sustainable Homes (download it here) is a UK Government-led step-change in sustainable home building practice and standards for new homes.

The Code is a national sustainability standard for the design and construction of sustainable homes which measures the sustainability of a home against nine design categories and rating the ‘whole home’ as a complete package of 1-6 stars.

The nine design categories examined within the Code for Sustainable Homes are:

• Energy/CO2
• Water
• Materials
• Surface water run-off
• Waste
• Pollution
• Health and well-being
• Management
• Ecology.

One star (★) is the entry level – this is already above the level of the Building Regulations.

Six stars (★★★★★★) is the highest – reflecting exemplar development in sustainability terms.

If we build the homes we need, then by 2050, as much as one-third of the total housing stock will have been built between now and then. Current house building plans therefore offer an important opportunity to build high standards of sustainability into the homes we will use in the future.

Only a minority of new social homes are being built to level 3 or above. Interestingly, choosing zero carbon solar thermal can help to add an extra star, compared to conventional solar. This extra sustainability is delivered because only zero carbon solar thermal (ie PV pumped or thermosyphon solar) does not have any components at all which are run on mains electricity. Solartwin is the UK’s and Ireland’s leading zero carbon solar thermal panel system, providing solar heated domestic hot water for washing and bathing. That fact (plus Legionella safety issues) is why more and more leading housing associations are specifying Solartwin solar panels for both new build and retrofit solar water heating installations.

For further information on integrating solar water heating into new AND existing social housing, plus how to apply for the remaining the 50% solar installation grants which are available, please call Dave Houston or Graham Johnston now on 0845 1300 137 or 01244 403 407.