Energy
Little Haldens will be an exemplar sustainable low carbon development, committed to delivering energy efficient healthy homes. High levels of insulation, an airtight construction and a layout optimised for solar gain will promote passive heating;while high performance glazing, shading and use of cross breezes will reduce the risk of overheating in the summer, ensuring a comfortable indoor climate year-round.
Homes will have mechanical ventilation, a fan that brings in fresh air and expels stale air. The outgoing air heats the incoming air, reducing the need for heating from traditional heating plant. Warm waste water from showering will also be recovered to pre-heat the water for the remainder of the shower, reducing energy for heating further.Air source heat pumps will provide homes with heating and hot water. These use a small amount of electricity to take heat from the outside air and upgrade it for use inside. With continued investment in renewable energy to supply grid electricity at a national level, connecting into the grid is a great way of benefiting from this clean low-carbon electricity. Further, not using traditional combustion technologies like gas boilers will improve air quality, which is a rising concern in cities.
Homes will also produce their own hot water and electricity using solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV) panels on their roof,helping keep energy costs for residents down.Little Haldens is aiming to exceed local planning carbon targets and is targeting a 35% reduction in regulated carbon dioxide emissions on site.