Green Energy Plan For Proposed Housing Development

Following renewed pledges at the G7 meeting in Cornwall to cut carbon emissions, Britain and other leading industrialised nations will now have the task of making good those pledges.

Among the ways ambitious environmental goals can be achieved is through reduced emissions arising from home energy, something district heating projects can play a huge part in achieving. These can use everything from recycled waste through to air source heat pumps.

Among the proposed new developments that will use the latter form of energy is a planned development of 114 homes on the outskirts of Ipswich. The scheme at Bramford is currently undergoing a public enquiry, with one of the key appeals of the project being the benefits to the environment.

The low carbon energy plans for the development include using air source heat piped into the homes at ground level, which will be used for underfloor heating as well as powering water boilers. The homes will also have solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems, which prevent flash flooding and can also re-use such ‘grey water’ in toilets.

Suffolk County Council has stated it is giving priority to this kind of energy use in new housing developments as a means of tackling the climate emergency.

The use of renewable energy will tie in with other green aspects of the development, such as landscaping and the provision of trees and log piles to encourage biodiversity of plants and animals, plus parkland and a community orchard.

While the consultation continues over the planned Ipswich development, similar heating systems are to be installed in two new housing developments in London.

Wilmott Dixon has just won the £25.6 million contract for two developments from Kensington & Chelsea Council, each of which will include air source heat pumps to provide green energy for residents.

Put together, the two schemes will provide 57 new homes.