RuralZED: A Zero Carbon Kit House By ZEDfactory
The team that brought us BedZED back in 2002 has released yet another zero carbon housing product called ruralZED earlier this year at EcoBuild in Earls Court, London. The ZEDfactory installed their new affordable, zero carbon home in only 3 days. ruralZED is a high quality housing system combining micro-generation and small biomass technologies that help achieve a Level 6 in England’s Code for Sustainable Homes. What makes this product unique is that the ZEDfactory has built into their system the ability to upgrade from a Code 3 to a Code 6 for 70% of all UK building sites.
ruralZED is made of a hybrid laminated timber frame flexible enough for a variety of master plan options at fixed prefabricated kit prices with volume discounts. Minimizing its demand on resources, ruralZED catches sunlight, wind, fresh air and rain using tried and tested energy systems.
The levels under the Code for Sustainability are the UK’s version of the US’s LEED system. ruralZED’s standard base model (around $166,000) starts at a Code Level 3 and incorporate super insulation, thermal mass, rated appliances, low E lighting, low water fittings and a green roof. These Code 3 homes are set up so that a homeowner can upgrade to a Code Level 6 over time- a level that will be mandated by the year 2016. A Code Level 6 home ($180,000) will incorporate additional features such as a pitched roof, solar PV panels, rainwater harvesting and a wind turbine. This system allows you to match your environmental aspirations with your budget.
The ruralZED design is optimized for the less dense landscape of rural England where homes will be built at 50 homes/ha or under. By building in a large scale density, they are able to take advantage of multiple party walls to help offset cost, heat and energy loss.
Density is great but it also matters where it is happening. GreenFab values the efforts of projects like ruralZED but believes that true sustainability comes from building on previously developed land within the urban fabric. It is more challenging to build a zero carbon home at a smaller scale but it can be done. It just might take a bit more time, money and creativity until the process is refined enough to keep our rural lands safe from development.
>> ruralZED
Via: Jetson Green
