What is an EcoHouse An eco house is

What is an Eco-House? An eco house is built in such a way that reduces energy consumption and waste Task In this task you will find out about eco houses and consider the features that you would like to see included in a family house for four people. Working in groups you will need to divide up the research whilst working together on a single design for your house. Contents of Help Pack 1. Tasks 2. Introduction 3. Draught Proofing 4. Cavity Walling 5. Double Glazed Windows 6. Hot water tank and piping insulating 7. Loft insulation 8. Insulated Flooring 9. Others areas of Research 10. How to draw a housing plan Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010 Once the information has been collected, each group must decide how best to present their design for the eco house. Designing an Eco-House Eco House

What you need to do. 1. Divide up the tasks between the people in your group. 2. Use the research information in this booklet plus anything that you can find on the internet to make decisions on what features you would like in your eco-house. 3. Draw your eco-house, including a detailed plan with all the features labelled on it and information on what they do and how they work. 4. Prepare an estate agent brochure selling your eco-house 5. Put together a short 3 min presentation that you will give to the rest of the class. Tasks 1. Researching and Designing Cavity walls 2. Researching and Designing Floor Insulation and Draught Proofing 3. Researching and Designing Double Glazing 4. Researching and Designing Loft Insulation 5. Researching and Designing Hot Water Tank Insulation and Piping 6. Researching other technologies Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010 Designing an Eco-House co House Eco

Why Insulate your house? Insulating your home will save energy and provide a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment. In Winter the heat captured from the sun or generated by your heater needs to be stopped from escaping through walls, ceilings and floors. In summer, insulation will keep the heat out, making your home cooler. Costs and Savings The initial investment of installing insulation will pay off over time because you save money in energy bills. How does insulating work? Most insulation works by trapping air spaces we call these spaces cavities. The smaller the cavities of trapped air, the better the insulation material will work. Good examples in nature animal shelters, such as bird’s nests, which have the ability to keep eggs and young birds at an even temperature in extreme weather conditions. The birds themselves have an added layer of insulation provided by their feathers. Humans have learned from nature’s example and clothes have been used for thousands of years to provide warmth. We can insulate our homes by providing spaces of still air, such as in wall insulation or double-glazing. This reduces heat transfer because air is a poor conductor of heat. Another method is to use surfaces that reflect heat, such as silver foil behind radiators. Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010 Designing an Eco-House ntroduction

The Basics Draught proofing is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to save energy in any type of building, from a flat to a mansion – but it’s often overlooked. To draught proof your home you should block up unwanted gaps that let cold air in and warm air out. By saving warm air you’ll use less energy to heat your home. Designing an Eco-House raught Proofing What Can be Draught Proofed? üWindows üDoors üChimneys and fireplaces üFloorboards and skirting boards üLoft hatches üPipe work üOld extractor fans üCracks in walls The savings Full draught proofing will save on average £ 25 per year. Blocking gaps around skirting boards and floor boards could save another £ 20 per year. Draught-free homes are comfortable at lower temperatures – so you’ll be able to turn down your thermostat. This could save you another £ 55 per year. Useful Website http: //www. energysavingtrust. org. uk/Home-improvements-and-products/Homeinsulation-glazing/Draught-proofing Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010

The Basics Home built from 1920 onwards have external walls that are made of two layers with a small gap or ‘cavity’ between them. This means they have 'cavity walls'. Insulating your cavity walls means filling that gap - with very good reason. No heat can now be transferred by convection because the air has been replaced by insulating materials. Conduction is very poor because both the insulating material and the trapped air are good insulators. The room in the house stays warmer for longer ? Did you know that around a third of all the heat lost in an un-insulated home is through the walls? Insulating cavity walls reduces heat loss and can save you around £ 110 a year on your fuel bills. Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010 Designing an Eco-House avity Walling

The Basics All properties lose heat through their windows. Installing energy efficient glazing is an effective way of reducing your energy bills and keeping your home warmer and quieter. Double glazed windows use two sheets of glass with a gap between them which creates an insulating barrier, whilst triple glazed windows have three sheets of glass. Both options can deliver a high level of energy efficiency. It is not the case that you have to use triple glazing to gain the most energy efficient window. What it can do Designing an Eco-House uble Glazing Window Smaller energy bills: replacing all single glazed windows with energy efficient glazing could save you around £ 130 per year on your energy bills. A smaller carbon footprint: by using less fuel, you’ll generate less of the carbon dioxide (CO 2) that leads to global warming. A more comfortable home: energy efficient glazing reduces heat loss through windows and means fewer draughts and cold spots. Peace and quiet: as well as keeping the heat in, energy efficient windows insulate your home against unwanted outside noise. Reduced condensation: energy efficient glazing reduces condensation buildup on the inside of windows. Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010

The Basics Insulating a hot water cylinder is one of the simplest and easiest ways to save energy and money. Fitting a 'jacket' around your cylinder will cut heat loss by over 75%. Both tank and pipe insulation keep your water hotter for longer by reducing the amount of heat that escapes. What the cost? What does it Save? A new, 75 mm thick hot water cylinder jacket will save you around £ 35 per year. The jackets themselves cost less than half that, meaning that you can reclaim your initial cost in less than 6 months. Insulation for hot water pipes will cost around £ 10 and can save you around £ 10 a year, which means you should recover the cost of fitting within a year. Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010 Designing an Eco-House Hot Water Tank and Piping Insulating

The Basics It's never been more important to think about insulating your loft. Without proper insulation a lot of the valuable, expensive energy you use to heat your home will be lost through the loft. The recommended depth for mineral wool insulation is 270 mm however there are other materials which require different depths. ? Designing an Eco-House oft Insulation Did you know that in an uninsulated home a quarter of your heat is lost through the roof. Insulating your loft is a simple and effective way to reduce your heating bills and you can even do it yourself. Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010

The Basics Timber floors can be insulated by lifting the floorboards and laying mineral wool insulation supported by netting between the joists. You can also use a regular tube sealant, such as silicon to fill gaps between floorboards and skirting boards to stop draughts. Designing an Eco-House sulated Flooring Costs and Savings Using a silicone sealant to fill gaps will save you around £ 20 a year on your heating bills. Insulating underneath the floorboards on the ground floor will save you around £ 50 a year. Website http: //www. energysavingtrust. org. uk/Home-improvements-and-products/Home-insulationglazing/Floor-Insulation Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010

As well as managing heat loss in our Eco homes there also a number of other ways we can make them more environmentally friendly. Use the internet to research some of the following ideas, and decide whether you want to include them in your designs. 1. 2. 3. 4. Solar Roof Panels Roof Gardens Water saving and recycling technologies Wind turbines seful Websites Website Address http: //www. ecohouseagent. com/ http: //www. environmentcity. org. uk/article. asp? article. ID=120&parent. ID= 105 http: //www. ecobob. co. nz/Eco. Article/Browse. aspx You could even design your own environmentally friendly idea for you eco house http: //www. energysavingtrust. org. uk/Home-improvements/Homeinsulation-glazing http: //www. smarterhomes. org. nz/ Aston Comprehensive School - Frith - 2010 Designing an Eco-House her areas of researc

When drawing your plan, try and add as much detail as you can, labelling different features, such as double glazed windows and cavity walls. Draw two separate plans, one for downstairs and one for upstairs. Designing an Eco-House How to draw a building plan

Assignment of Tasks Completed 1. Researching and Designing Cavity walls Name__________________ 2. Researching and Designing Floor insulation and draught proofing Name__________________ 3. Researching and Designing Double Glazing Name__________________ 4. Researching and Designing Loft Insulation Name__________________ 5. Researching and Designing Hot Water Tank Insulation and Piping Name__________________ 6. Drawing a picture of your eco house Name__________________ 7. Drawing a detailed plan of your eco house Name__________________ 8. Making a sales brochure Name__________________ 9. Preparing a 3 min presentation Name__________________ 10. Researching other technologies Name__________________ Designing an Eco-House Student Group Sheet

Where Could Heat Method of transfer: How could you reduce this? Energy transfer out Conduction (What materials are you going of your house Convection (or) to use – and how are you going Radiation to use them? ) Designing an Eco-House Student Group Sheet