Zero carbon home benefits from reflective membrane technology

Client

Oregon Timber Frame Ltd

End Client

Barratt Developments PLC

Timber frame manufacturer
and building contractor

Oregon Timber Frame Ltd

Architects

Technical and innovation team
at Barratt Developments

Project Overview

The project has embraced the use of offsite construction, with closed timber frame panels manufactured in the factory at Oregon Timber Frame Ltd, part of Barratt Developments. This reduced build time by half, and with the home incorporating a number of cutting edge technologies and building materials, not only have carbon emissions been reduced but the design has been future proofed by substantially surpassing the Future Homes Standard.

Zed House is the first home built by a major house builder to achieve the net zero ambition and we are proud to have been chosen to be involved in this pioneering scheme.

The Challenge

Zed House has been specifically created to provide a greater insight into zero carbon living and what this really means in terms of how homes are designed, built and lived in going forward. Academics at the University of Salford will be taking up residence in the house to experience this concept first-hand.

Over 40 organisations across the housebuilding, sustainability and technology sectors have been involved in the delivery of this flagship scheme and only those product manufacturers that could offer known energy efficiency benefits to help achieve net zero status were chosen.

Ensuring high levels of energy efficiency was a key requirement and, as the house will be continually monitored for energy performance, it was vital that all products specified would offer long term benefits. This aim to future proof the scheme by achieving zero carbon emissions and low overall U-values has also led to Zed House becoming the first project by a major housebuilder to successfully exceed the requirements of the Future Home Standard which will be introduced in 2025.

With timber frame also playing a key role in the construction of the scheme, the products specified had to be compatible with offsite techniques, being easy to work with and install, both in a factory and site environment, to ensure the very best results.

Glidevale Protect’s reflective wall membranes fit this brief perfectly and although they are concealed from view now the flagship home is completed, these hidden protectors’ within the building envelope will play a role in reducing both energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The Solution

By taking a fabric first approach as the initial foundation for the design and construction of the building envelope, the Zed House concept has been able to make a number of efficiencies to the way the building can retain heat and therefore reduce its carbon footprint. With many traditional homes losing heat through external walls, this particular issue was addressed through the use of our innovative reflective wall membrane technology.

Ideally suited for projects where energy efficiency is paramount, our Protect TF200 Thermo insulating external breather membrane and Protect VC Foil Ultra insulating vapour control layer and air barrier work hand in hand to create a highly effective system. Together, these innovative products deliver a low emissivity solution with the reflective surface of the membrane facing into still air cavities, thereby contributing to a low U-value for the wall element. Our reflective wall membrane solutions provide market-leading aged thermal resistance, operating as a radiant barrier that reflects heat back into the property and ensuring long term performance over the life cycle of a building.

With Zed House being constructed offsite in order to make significant savings to both the carbon footprint and time frame of the build programme, we were delighted to supply our product solutions to specialist manufacturers and designers Oregon Timber Frame Ltd, in order to deliver this tailored solution. Our reflective membranes were factory installed to timber frame closed panels before being delivered and constructed onsite, saving time and cost, reducing the project’s carbon emissions during construction.

Customer testimonial