WC Archive

If I do end up moving to London, I now know where I'd like to live. Yorklake Homes, in cooperation with BedZED, have opened a set of flats in central London which can be entirely self-sufficient for power. This is a step up from similar developments elsewhere, which only promise a reduction in energy pulled from the grid.

A wind turbine fitted to the roof of an apartment block [...] compliments other eco-friendly features such as solar panels to convert the sun's rays into electricity, a hot water boiler powered by wood pellets, produced from wood waste and riple-glazed and krypton-filled windows to provide thermal and noise insulation. Also the exterior walls are exceptionally well insulated with a 300mm cavity filled with rock wool, the ceilings and floors are concrete slab construction which acts like super large storage heaters, storing heat in winter and coolness in summer and roof-mounted wind cowls provide innovative high levels of ventilation and heat reclamation

The stylish apartments are at the leading of carbon emission-saving building technology and are a fine example for other architects and builders to follow. [...] [The] Swift near-silent wind turbine on the roof is one of the first domestically available of its type that generates power at mains voltage. When combined with the solar panels it enables the development to generate as much electricity as it consumes.

Of the four flats, three are already sold; the remaining ground floor apartment is available at £270K. The main downside of this development -- aside from the price -- is the limited number of units in the structure, making the flats more of a technology demonstration -- or even a "concept home" -- than a real high-efficiency development. Although Yorklake sees the development as the first of a series, for now, it's just a tiny step.