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Zero Carbon homes topped out at Rothwell

09 March 2011

A traditional Topping Out ceremony was held on Monday 7th March in Rothwell, Kettering, to mark the placing of the final roof panel on two zero carbon homes, forming part of the Europe-wide VELUX Model Home 2020 project.

The properties are sensitive to local conditions and will use natural resources to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, meeting the Government’s future demands for sustainable buildings and focusing on the homeowners’ health and well-being.

The Rothwell homes will be weather-tight in two weeks and are due for completion in the early summer. They will be open to the public for six months before undergoing energy performance monitoring with a local test family in residence. They will then be sold on the open market.

The important milestone in the construction of VELUX’s CarbonLight Homes was witnessed by project partners Kettering Borough Council, North Northants Development Company, Willmott Dixon and HTA Architects.

Caroline Wardle, Project Director at North Northants Development Company (NNDC), said: “NNDC has been involved in this project from the very start when we identified the development site in Kettering so it is very exciting to see the Model Homes reach this advanced stage. Eco-friendly construction is often talked about but not always delivered, so VELUX deserves great credit for its vision of CarbonLight Homes, which are very much in line with the wider aspirations for sustainable new housing in North Northamptonshire.”

Paul Hicks, Design and Construction Manager for the VELUX Model Home 2020 project, comments: “The Topping Out ceremony represents a key milestone for the homes and we were delighted to be able to celebrate in the traditional way with our partners. The CarbonLight Homes will offer a unique solution to the challenge of delivering energy efficient homes that people will want to live in. In only five years’ time, all new homes will be expected to be built to zero carbon standards and we hope that our homes will lead the way, acting as a benchmark for future sustainable buildings and communities.”

For more information visit: www.velux.co.uk/modelhome2020

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Notes for Editors:

VELUX Model Home 2020

The CarbonLight Homes form part of the European-wide VELUX Model Home 2020 project, which will see six full-scale experimental demo-houses built at different locations in five countries. All of the homes will reflect and respond to three main principles – energy efficient design, a high livability factor and minimum environmental impact – as well as the different climatic, cultural and architectural conditions of the countries in which they are built. All of the homes will be subject to post occupancy evaluation and the results used to help inform the sustainable housing agenda.

Green Lighthouse in Copenhagen became Denmark’s first public carbon neutral building when it was completed in 2009 and was followed by the unveiling of Home for Life in the country’s second city Aarhus. LichtActiv Haus in Hamburg, Germany and Sunlighthouse in Pressbaum, Austria, were completed in 2010. The UK and France will open their homes to the public this year.

More about VELUX Company Ltd

VELUX believes that new and existing homes should conform to a sustainable living agenda. However this should not be at the detriment to either living standards or the health and well-being of a building’s occupants. Sustainable living should embrace modern lifestyles and the changing needs of society, while providing a building enclosure that encourages a healthy indoor climate. The use of natural daylight and ventilation is prerequisite to a healthy lifestyle and the use of secure renewable technology such as solar thermal is a commonsense approach to low energy building solutions.

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