The Zero Carbon House

• England's first homes to both PassivHaus AND CfSH level 6 (zero carbon): AA Eco-Vicarages for the Diocese of Worcester. Visit on 11 November #

• England's first homes to both PassivHaus AND CfSH level 6 (zero carbon): AA Eco-Vicarages for the Diocese of Worcester. Visit on 11 November #

• Lovely soft vintage sofa has arrived – recycled house, recycled furniture! #

• Lovely soft vintage sofa has arrived – recycled house, recycled furniture! #

• ZCH details updated in Low Energy Buildings Database, see: http://t.co/SnTqXbeS #

• ZCH details updated in Low Energy Buildings Database, see: http://t.co/SnTqXbeS #

We have updated ZCH details on the “Low Energy Building Database” See: http://retrofitforthefuture.org/search.php?s=birmingham

This now combines the “Retrofit for the Future” projects, a Government initiative which has enabled people to experiment with a wide variety of interesting prototype ideas for upgrading rented social housing, with the cutting edge case studies designed by members of the AECB (Association for Environmentally Conscious Building). 

For a good overview of the different green building standards (although strangely it doesn’t at present include the Code for Sustainable Homes) see : http://www.retrofitforthefuture.org/leb/technical-information/

LEBD has tried to make a clear distinction between energy consumed and generated, as it is important to clarify that even if electric usage and surplus PV generation balance out, there are still times (eg. after dark with no PV) when it is necessary to import electricity from fossil-fuelled power stations.

• Thirty 6-yr old schoolchildren spent a happy day learning all about ZCH. #

• Thirty 6-yr old schoolchildren spent a happy day learning all about ZCH. #

A sequel to the zero carbon house is a series of “Eco-Vicarages” designed by John Christophers at Associated Architects. The Diocese of Worcester is the enlightened client, and the Eco-Vicarage at Kingswinford is now one of only five schemes in the UK which will feature in International PassivHaus Open Day 11-13 November, see www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/event_detail.php?eId=57#eco We believe it is the first scheme in England to achieve both the two green building “gold standards” of Code for Sustainable Home level 6 and Passivhaus accreditation. Please pass on details to anyone who might be interested in visiting.