Eco town residents could pay less for heating

9:29am Monday 2nd June 2008

PROSPECTIVE residents of the eco-town at Long Marston, should the site make it into the government's shortlist, could pay less than £100 per year in domestic heating bills according to a leading authority on energy conservation.

Ian Ward of SABRE, one of the directors of the joint venture scheme between the University of Sheffield and the Building Research Establishment, points to existing low-energy housing schemes in the UK where annual heating bills of £100 or less are being achieved for specially designed eco-homes.

Mr Ward is an associate member of the influential Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Advisory Group and has been recruited to advise the team working on building designs for the eco-town plans at Long Marston.

He said: "Depending on the materials used and the heating system selected, it is perfectly realistic to dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed to heat homes and offices.

"I would go as far as saying that it will be possible to heat a family home for less than £100 per year, perhaps as low as £50 in the best circumstances."

With domestic heating bills running at an average of £1,100 per year, and set to rise further in accordance with rising oil and gas costs, the reduced cost of green' homes provides an attractive solution for many families struggling to make ends meet.

It is also thought these homes would use less fossil fuels and produce substantially less Co2 emissions.

Consequently, Mr Ward will be advising the developers of the Long Marston proposal on detailed aspects of building design and materials that will generate maximum energy efficiency.

The aim of any design for an eco-home will be to achieve the highest Code Level 6 sustainable standard, which equates to the zero carbon rating required by the government for any eco-town development.

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