Green Policy

Ingram Homes Green Policy is to install Renewable heating systems in all our properties started from 2010 onwards. In most situations this will be by installing Ground Source Heat Pumps with vertical boreholes.  We will also be working towards building properties to Passivhaus standards.

Ingram Homes are MCS Accredited, which means all of our clients who purchase a home with renewable technologies (including heat pumps, solar thermal and solar PV) will qualify for incentive payments.  As of September 2010, we do not know of any other house building firm in the region that is MCS Accredited.

So consumers can understand energy efficiency in more detail and how it relates to new homes, we have compiled a number of articles about the subject.

Why buy a new home?

A ‘live’ case study

Going Green at a cost

Renewable Heating - Ground Source Heat Pumps

What is the Green Deal?

Why buy a new home?

It is clear that the sustainable technologies now being adopted in the building of new homes are gaining a lot of momentum. All the main UK political parties have committed to reducing the amount of green house gases we produce and in order to achieve reductions in Carbon emissions, a lot of focus has been on the ‘New Homes’ sector.

It is our belief that the UK Government will begin to tax energy inefficient properties and will Subsidise energy efficient homes. This may be through higher council taxes or through increased taxes on Oil and Gas.  At the same time the Government are likely to reward home owners who install renewable heating systems such as ground source heat pumps, solar thermal and biomass boilers.

The reality is that over the next decade (and beyond) a new home will be favoured more as it will cost significantly less to run both in terms of taxes and utility bills.  Obviously we can make judgement but consumers will need to decide this for themselves.

Ingram Homes are investing in new Sustainable Technologies, which means we are ahead of our competitors in delivering the next generation of energy efficient homes.

Our new homes at Carys Meadow, for example, are the most efficient homes we have ever built. We believe there is a pent up demand for this kind of housing and this has been proven by the exceptional success of the development.  At the time of writing (Jan 2012) we have forward sold houses for delivery in October 2012.  This type of housing offers people a better, more comfortable style of life, where cold and dampness are a thing of the past.

A ‘live’ case study

Ingram Homes have recently commissioned a large detached dwelling in the Norwich area. This property was occupied in June 2010 and is being monitored for its energy efficiency. Ingram Homes hope to gain a better understanding of energy efficiency in new homes and in doing so will be able to evaluate the pros and cons of the various ‘eco’ technologies. The aim will be to gain a better understanding in order to streamline our building methods further.  This evolutionary approach to building will be necessary going forward as building regulation standards become more onerous.

In addition to monitoring electricity and water usage we will be compiling an understanding of how much the heating system is needed and what relation the solar panels and wood burners play in this. We will also monitor how the solar panels cope with the demand of the domestic hot water.

This home is fitted with the latest technologies:

Ingram Homes are investing in these new technologies because over the next few years we want to continue delivering the best quality and most energy efficient homes.

We believe that when the government incentives are taken into account (after 2011) this property should have the potential to earn the owner money on their utility bills.  This is because the government introduced incentives for generating renewable electricity in April 2010 but they are also proposing to pay similar incentives for renewable heating systems from April 2011. See worked example below:

Electricity bill (1 year projected): £1750

Gas Bill: zero (no gas to property)

Water Bill (1 year projected): £600

Incentive from Solar PV: approx. £1,600 per annum*

Incentive for Ground Source Heat Pump: projected to be between £1,000 and £1,500 per annum for 23 years **

Incentive for Solar Thermal: projected to be around £500 per annum for 18 years***

PROFIT POTENTIAL AFTER UTILITY BILLS ARE PAID = £750 to £1,250 per annum

If any prospective purchasers do not understand this article or need more explanation on renewable heat or renewable power systems then please do not hesitate to contact us.

* Based on feed in tariff of 41.3p per kwh - for 25 years (index linked for inflation). This incentive started in April 2010

** Based on Renewable Heat Incentive of 7p per kwh - for 23 years (index linked for inflation). This incentive is due to run from Oct 2012

*** Based on Renewable Heat Incentive of 18p per kwh - for 20 years (index linked for inflation). This incentive is due to run from Oct 2012

Going Green at a cost

Although new homes have been energy efficient for many years (probably since the 1980s), the current trend at Ingram Homes is for a continual optimisation of energy efficiency but within a carefully controlled budget. Improvement across all fronts to produce homes with better efficiency is always possible by spending more money on the specification. However, our aim at Ingram Homes is to seek out those improvements which make the most difference but still produce a home which is affordable to most people. We have adopted an evolutionary approach to our building. This means that our product will evolve and improve everytime we deliver a new property. 

By fitting these technologies and improving our build methods we are gaining a better understanding of the relationship between cost and energy efficiency.

Renewable Heating - Ground Source Heat Pumps

We have compiled some information regarding the pros and cons of Air Source Heat Pumps and Ground Source Heat Pumps. It should be noted that these technologies are best suited to new properties with decent levels of insulation.

Air Source Heat Pumps

Ground Source Heat Pumps

For the reasons stated above, Ingram Homes have made the decision, where possible, to not fit any Air Source Heat Pumps and instead will opt for the more stable Ground Source Heat Pumps in all our new properties. We feel the additional costs associate with installing a Ground Source Heat Pump far outweigh the negatives associated with Air Source Heat Pumps.  This approach will also prove to be beneficial if, as predicted, energy prices continue to rise.

We did consider Biomass boilers but again we have dismissed this heating method for the majority of properties because the set up costs are high but there are also the issue of space.  Some of our homes such as small starter homes and apartments would not suit this method of heating due to space restrictions.  We have not totally dismissed the biomass boiler but more research is needed into the supply chain for wood pellets. We need to understand whether the supply will be there in future years and if it is, whether prices for this fuel will be volatile.

Ingram Homes are securing the future needs of our clients by investing in Ground Sourced Heat. We are drilling deep into the ground and tapping into the free energy provided by the earth. We will therefore continue to cut carbon emissions on every new property we build.

What is the Green Deal?

The Green Deal is a new government initiative aimed at reducing carbon emissions from the entire UK housing stock.  The target is to cut carbon dioxide emissions from 84 Mega Tonnes to 60 Mega Tonnes, a drop of 29%, by 2020. 

In order to achieve this, the savings will be made in a number of ways including:

The homeowner will be able to apply for a loan from the government to make such improvements and this loan will be paid off over time with the costs savings generated from the reduction in utility bills.  The scheme, branded the Green Deal, will go live in October 2012.  Ultimately such a scheme will only work if the costs of energy continue to rise as they have done in the past. The Green Deal has little impact on the New Homes market as these properties are already very efficient in terms of energy usage.