SolarWall features in solar house
This 5-bedroom timber-frame property is believed to be the UK’s first fully solar-powered new-build home and is set to exceed the requirements of the Government’s 2016 zero-carbon target. One of its key features is the use of CA Group’s SolarWall transpired solar collectors to preheat fresh air before it is drawn into the building’s heating and ventilation system, reducing reliance on fossil fuels by as much as 50%.
The building has 24 m2 of SolarWall split over two collectors and capable of delivering energy reductions of around 7.3 MWh a year. The collectors face south east and south-west to maximise their output in the morning and afternoon.
John Cotterill of UK Sustainable Architecture, which developed the solar-house concept on behalf of Caplin Homes, explains, ‘We wanted to bring together leading solar technologies and demonstrate the significant contribution they can make to reducing energy consumption in the domestic market.’
Andrew Brewster, a project development engineer for CA Group says, ‘SolarWall has the lowest capital cost, highest known efficiency (up to 80%) and the quickest return on any investment of any active solar technology in the world, with proven payback periods as low as three years.’
