Superhome saves 80% of damaging emissions

Paul Ciniglio, Radian’s Innovation and Sustainability Manager, has redefined the phrase ’working at home’. Not satisfied with leading Radian’s award-winning sustainable developments and pioneering retrofitting work, Paul has undertaken a systematic whole house energy efficient retrofit project to his own home. It is believed that the 80.4% reduction achieved in overall household carbon dioxide emissions make “Sunpower CO2ttage” the most energy efficiently improved home in Hampshire to date.

The two bedroom mid-terraced property was traditionally built in a cottage style in 1990 in the heart of the new South Downs National Park in Stroud, Hampshire; a village located off the mains gas network, was formally opened last week by John Doggart co-founder of the Existing Homes Alliance and Andrew Lee, the CEO of the Sustainable Development Commission.

Andrew Lee, Chief Executive of the Government’s independent watchdog on sustainable development, said “Paul is a trailblazing pioneer and has produced a brilliant example of the sort of thing that we need to do on a massive scale throughout Britain. Retrofitting the 500,000 homes a year needed is the biggest engineering task that Britain has ever faced; bigger than WWII or the railway system.”

Completed in early 2010, Sunpower CO2ttage joins the ‘Old Homes Super Homes’, a national network of other exemplar homes, open to the public, that show how we can cut climate change emissions from our existing houses whilst preserving and enhancing our heritage.

Home owner, Paul Ciniglio said, “I am very proud to have completed the retrofitting of my home in line with my project vision. I look forward to welcoming visitors and helping to inspire them to achieve their own aspirations to reduce the environmental impact and running costs in their homes. I am extremely grateful to all who supported me in making this project a reality. Finally I can begin to enjoy the benefits of living in a truly sustainable home.”

It is the first home in Hampshire to meet the challenge of slashing its emissions by 80%, something that all of the UK’s 24 million existing homes will need to do if Government climate change targets are to be reached by the year 2050.

Colin Butfield, WWF Head of Campaigns, said “Lots of people talk about making our homes more sustainable - Paul has just gone and done it. Paul's home and the Superhomes network as a whole are vital exemplars that show what can, and must be done, to every home in the UK if we are to reach the UK's climate targets. Without pioneers like Paul, getting the change we need would be much, much harder”

The refurbishment project, costing Paul more than £30,000, was supported by the South Downs Joint Committee sustainable development fund and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. Wherever possible, local suppliers, materials and tradesmen were used alongside the contacts Paul has built through his work with Radian.

Lindsay Todd, Radian chief executive said, “Paul is just one example of Radian staff who epitomise our vision of ‘Where people flourish’. He has helped Radian to become recognised as one of the UK’s pioneers in retrofitting existing homes, and it is no surprise that he ‘practices what he preaches’ by fulfilling his ambitions on his own home.”

The package of energy saving measures include vastly improved thermal insulation and air tightness; recyclable ‘A’ energy rated, argon-filled double glazing with low emissivity glass; localised extract ventilation with heat recovery; efficient Air Source Heat Pump for space heating combined with low water volume radiators, wireless thermostatic control and continuous concealed pipe-work insulation; highly efficient evacuated tube solar thermal panels; an array of solar photovoltaic panels covering the South facing roof generating free and clean electricity on site; low energy lighting including new style LED’s; energy consumption and solar generation meters; ‘AAA’ energy rated household appliances and water saving measures including ultra low dual flush WC, aerated shower head, water meter and rain water harvesting butts.

John Doggart, co-founder of the Existing Homes Alliance and chairman of the Sustainable Energy Academy said, “Paul has made, not only tremendous achievements professionally, but taken his beliefs into his private life and produced this exemplar to demonstrate carbon reduction in practice in a typical house. From such exemplars comes inspiration and from inspiration comes action.”

The Sustainable Energy Academy verified the modelled carbon emission reductions; the actual performance of the home in use is now being monitored to ascertain the real savings that can be achieved for comparison against the original targets. This data will be periodically reviewed during a minimum period of monitoring of 36 months while the home remains open to the public on selected days of the year. The case study will be updated and published at the end of this period for dissemination of the learning.

Sunpower CO2ttage is part of the ‘Old Home Super Home’ network, an alliance of almost 50 homes that have reduced their total household carbon footprint by at least 60%; more information is available at www.superhomes.org.uk