The Zero Bills Home

Projects / Residential

The Zero Bills Home

Project information

Project Date: 2016

Site Location: London, UK

Project Status: Construction Finished

An Innovative Affordable ZERO CARBON Housing System

The Zero Bills Home build at the BRE Innovation Park represents the first show home for a new 96 home zero bills development in Newport Essex for the Sir Arthur Ellis family Trust. Newport is 8 miles from Stansted and 15 miles from Cambridge. The new zero bills village is 150 yards from a station on the Bishopsgate / Cambridge railway line.

Superinsulated concrete foundation slab with optional additional piles to match most ground conditions.
Laser cut galv steelpowder coated structural ring beam with C16 UK timber studs. UK fabricated OSB structural boards enables one floor to be built every two days
Superinsulated cladding with heat recovery ventilation and triple glazing reduces heat demand to the point where a tiny heat pump can provide comfort and hot water
ZED Factory designed BIPV solar roofing system provides durable roof with electric generation and optional solar loft conservatory
Good daylight, water saving appliances and LED lighting reduces electric demand allowing surplus solar electricity to power an electric car
A smart LIPO4 Fitcraft battery system. Positioned under the stair stores solar electricity, minimising grid imports and limiting grid export to 3kw maximum avoids the need to upgrade the existing mains grid infrastructure.

This home represents 10 years of innovation and supply chain development. The home far exceeds requirements under the new building regulations and will be rested against the new HQM standards, aiming to achieve the highest levels possible for the site. Full LABC and Protekt warranties for the construction system will be available.

Simple Construction & Procurement

The build system has been simplified to benefit both small and large builders. It bring the benefits of offsite construction on site without the additional overheads or lead in times of factory production. The system promotes the use of local labour trained using the technical manual and the ZBH house kit ordering process creating a fully scalable system from single homes to thousands of home per annum though a chain of national builders merchants.

Exceeding Building Standards

The BRE house has achieved an airtightness of 1.3 ach @50 pascals test pressure on first test without walls plastered. Building Regulations requires 10 ach @50 pa.

ZED roof power station 7.5 kW peak

Exceptional Sustainability Credentials

We have maximised the use of UK sourced materials to minimise carbon footprint. The timber studs, OSB and steel is all UK sourced. We maximise the use of natural building materials and eliminate urethane foams, materials with high off grossing and materials with low life cycles. This makes the building one of the lowest embodied carbon buildings possible. Combined wth our BIPV solar roof, battery storage and zero fossil fuel energy systems the home also starts paying back its embodied carbon by generating more electricity than it needs over typical year.

Design Flexibility

The system enables simple, adaptable plans which create convenient internal layouts for any plot orientation. The open structural system increases flexibility for self-build and site specific variations. We have developed this further to create a range of standard house types for detached, semi and terraced typologies. ‘Design code’ planning kits allow new communities on larger sites to design themselves whilst recognising the importance of the placemaking agenda.

Living room

Garage

Kitchen

Living room

Bedroom

Toilet

Ground Floor Plan

Ground Floor Plan (Life time home / Granny Flat in the garage)

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Solar Loft

Bedroom4

Bathroom

Bedroom1

Bedroom2

Bedroom3

Excellent Value

The system build costs at scale are circa £1450- £1650/ m2 for a completed building which compares favourably with current costs of meeting building regulations. Combined with no net annual energy bills and the potential to achieve higher resale values based on the additional features of the building, the ZBH system offers a cost effective and sustainable alternative to traditional builder offerings.