21 Jul 2010

A Lakehouse project at Brentfield Housing Estate, Willesden, has been shortlisted for a Sustainable Housing Award. Brent Housing Partnership has nominated the project for Energy Saving Initiative of the Year.

The brief from BHP was simple: retrofit occupied homes sensitively and with consideration, with a range of sustainable improvements including new outer wall insulation, new windows, roofs and roof insulation. The primary objective was to significantly improve the overall standard of each of the 114 properties and to reduce their energy consumption. Recognising an opportunity to develop a powerful solution, and target the bigger picture of sustainability, we went a step further. Our technical roofing team suggested a unique combination of Marley Eternit's EcoLogic roof tiles and Solarcentury's C21e solar electric (PV) roof tiles, which we call our 'Smart Roof System'.

The combination achieves not one but three environmentally friendly benefits simultaneously; the removal of nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollutants from the atmosphere via titanium dioxide-coated, concrete EcoLogic roof tiles; the utilisation of recycled content in the concrete EcoLogic roof tiles; and the provision of clean, free electricity via the C21e solar electric (PV) tiles.

The retrofit upgrades have resulted in a 33% improvement in energy efficiency and a 43% improvement in environmental impact. We have managed to significantly improve the standard of living for residents in local authority-owned houses, as well as combining three powerful environmentally sustainable elements to produce an outstanding result.

The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on 22nd October.