Can any one explain what is a "Zero Carbon Home" and how to you design one ?
Tony
posted on 06-12-06
A tree house or a cave?
bob
posted on 06-12-06
its a myth............low carbon maybe, such as a passive haus, but zero carbon, impossible im afraid
Nigel
posted on 06-12-06
Not actually impossible, Sue Roaf has built one but probably very expensive and the zero carbon is achieved through lots of onsite renewables.
Mike George
posted on 06-12-06
I agree with Nigel, it is possible with on site renewables. A big enough wind turbine for example linked to all things electrical will be zero carbon.
Unless of course you include the embodied energy of all the materials....
mark brinkley
posted on 07-12-06
I tend to agree that there is no such thing. Bolting on renewables is cheating, just like signing up for a green electricity tarrif. If you allow bolt-on renewables, you could build a totally uninsuated house, fit it out with electric fan heaters, leave the windwos open all winter and the lights on all year, and, as long as you had a big enough wind turbine at the bottom of the garden, it would qualify as a zero-carbon house. It's a really unhelpful term and I suspect the government will come to regret promising "zero-carbon" homes by 2010.
