Superglass supplies Stewart Milne, Sigma home development

04/07/2007

Stewart Milne have created a new innovative zero carbon home using Superglass insulation.
Last week’s OFFSITE2007 was a watershed for the homes of the future. The Innovation Park at BRE, Watford shows how houses can be built to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2016.

The Code for Sustainable Homes is a world leading all round measure of environmental sustainability ensuring that new homes deliver real improvements in carbon dioxide emissions, water use, etc. At present the system is voluntary. Assessment is mandatory at the end of 2008 and Level 3 and 4 become mandatory at the end of 2010 for the private sector and public sector respectively. By the end of 2016 Level 6 is mandatory.

Stewart Milne achieved the 5 Star Level with their Sigma Home. The Stewart Milne approach is an innovative four-storey semi-detached house. It is a prototype in order to establish if four-storey town houses will be acceptable to the buying public. It also aims to demonstrate that the Code for Sustainable Homes can be achieved in volume house building.

Advanced timber frame is used with single skin, closed panelled walls (0.17 U-value). Factory insulated compartment floor (dB50), factory insulated domestic floors and factory insulated roof cassettes are also used. Air-tightness detailing allows 1m3/h/m2 at 50Pa. Key aspects for its commercial viability include that external wall is 300mm and the four-storey town house over a three-storey gives a 30% saving in land.