Efficient Berkshire Home
- Country UK, Berkshire
- LOXONE partner Birch Hill Developments
Challenge
Solution
I have been building one-off architect designed houses since 2000, primarily with the aim of them being development houses for resale. At the higher end of the market, always looking to incorporate energy saving and efficient building methods and practices where possible, and trying to go a little bit further with each project.<br /><br /> Our construction has always been timber frame, underfloor heating, powered by gas/oil/wood/ground source/air source heating and hot water. With an emphasis on internal air flow and good insulation practices.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The current bungalow was leaking heat everywhere, walls, floor, doors, windows, roof, etc. The cost of renovating the house was impractical for the desired outputs and demolition and rebuild seemed the best option. It was then decided to try and incorporate an as close to net zero energy house as possible on an affordable budget, that could be replicated in other projects going forwards, if the decision was made to follow that route at inception of the project.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Over the years all the parts of a house seemed to be attracting their own standalone programmers that didn’t really speak to each other and often conflicted with each other. Everything needed a plug-in to the router and a big cluttered box of controllers ensued, from Velux, Blinds, Heating, Lighting Drivers, Alarm, Google, Alexa, along with numerous remotes – which companies love selling as extras for their own products. I was keen to streamline this process and this is where after much research on smart home technologies, we opted to become involved with Loxone as a vehicle to run the whole house with the plan of integrating programmers into one platform, that would be self-supporting and stand alone within its own walls. This has been enabled by Loxone as well as, of course, all the other benefits of Loxone in a house.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> This current house at No.3 has now been successful in using Loxone to integrate a very low energy use Heating and Hot water system that includes a Back Boiler on a Wood Burning Stove, with safety overheat features covered, Burn rate damper control, Solar Thermal Hot water, Air Source Heat Pump and Immersion Back up. Loxone Weather and temperature variables are prioritising one system over another (saving energy and money) and also coordinating a Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system along with window opening and closing, curtain and blind control for shading and heat retention. All these features once used as a whole house system, have made some remarkable savings.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The existing bungalow between September 2017 to September 2018 used 17,325 kWh of energy (gas and electric combined). Between September 2021 to September 2022, 7172 kWh of energy was used, solely electric. The new house has no gas supply.<br /><br /> If the house had a standard 9kW Solar Panel system it would exceed net zero, which whilst Loxone doesn’t provide insulation and an airtight building, it is very capable of energy management and efficient usage of heating and hot water around the home. In the summer the excess solar gain has also been heating a swimming pool and maintaining the temperature in the mid to high 20’s from May to October. The existing bungalow had no heated swimming pool either.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Financially there is now no daily standing charge for gas.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I favoured Loxone from an early stage and feel that what I am doing and Loxone logic work very well together and can continue to also develop together.
Bruce Poll, Home Owner and Loxone Silver Partner