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Around an ongoing barn conversion project, this website draws together advice, information and references to aid all would-be and current barn and non-residential building converters and renovators.

Our approach takes on board 'healthy house', sustainable, ecological & environmental concepts to as great a degree as timescales and budgets allow.

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On Passive Solar Design by Passive Solar Design as a Word Cloud | my barn conversion on June 25th, 2008
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On Cables by Pipes | my barn conversion on June 17th, 2008
[...] we have pipes (and lots of them as well)....

On Air Source Heat Pump by Peter Rycrafr on June 2nd, 2008
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On Code for Sustainable Homes by BREEAM ~ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method | my barn conversion on May 16th, 2008
[...] Code for Sustainable Homes by mbc on May 16th,...

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Code for Sustainable Homes

May 16th, 2008 by mbc

The Code for Sustainable Homes is an essential read for anyone considering a sustainable home building project. In its own words:

The Code for Sustainable Homes has been introduced to drive a step-change
in sustainable home building practice. It is a standard for key elements of
design and construction which affect the sustainability of a new home.

It is under-pined by heavy-weight research having being built upon the Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) EcoHomes System.

How does the code work?

The code seeks to achieve improvements to levels of sustainability in home building through the establishment of minimum standards for energy and water efficiency, the provision of a simple points based rating system for enumerating levels of sustainability and extending the scope of the code into areas such as composting and ‘lifetime’ issues of the home such as accessibility and adaptability.

The rating system allows for the allocation of an overall one to six stars to communicate the sustainability level of a home. The overall score is built up from sub-scores in nine broad design categories, these are:

  • Energy/CO2
  • Water
  • Materials
  • Surface water run-off
  • Waste
  • Pollution
  • Health and well-being
  • Management
  • Ecology

Energy/CO2 & Water have minimum levels that must be achieved at each of the six levels of the code. Materials, Surface water run-off & Waste have a minimum level that must be attained to allow entry into the code at all.

Briefly, assessment of a number of issues defined by the code within each category allows the allocation of a number of points and from these points the overall star rating is derived. For example, in the Energy/CO2 category points are scored through taking measures such as utilising renewable or low carbon energy sources and also through the provision of bicycle storage or a home office.

The code has high hopes for itself, aiming to provide environmental benefits with a positive impact on climate change and a reduction in the environmental impact of building. Additionally, benefit to builders by providing a flexible mark of quality and greater direction in terms of future regulations and to home-owners through lower running costs, improved comfort & satisfaction and generally more pleasant and healthier places to live.

Why should I use them?

Whilst providing a potential future gold standard for sustainable building (only time, implementation and experience will confirm or reject that statement), the code is useful at the design stage for both professionals and non-professionals in providing a design template and useful design patterns. The categories and issues of The Code for Sustainable Homes can be used in the same way as I’ve used design patterns , to help focus on detail and polish the overall design.

You should also note that all new homes, except those where ‘the initial notice, full plans or Building Notice have been received by the relevant Local Authority Building Control body prior to 1st May 2008′ will have to be rated against the code.

If you enjoyed that post, then read these...

VAT for barn convertors on March 16th, 2007
There is an update to this post at .

VAT for barn convertors - Update December 2007 on December 8th, 2007
I thought it was about time to review the VAT situation regarding the barn to ensure that my understanding is correct, so an overview of the current legislation follows with appropriate extracts.

BREEAM ~ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method on May 11th, 2008
The term BREEAM is one that I've come across in various contexts over the course of this project and thought I'd better find out what it means.

Microgeneration installations now 'permitted developments' on May 6th, 2008
A piece of good news that is of great interest personally and I'm sure of interest to many people planning conversions and other projects, is that the installation of solar thermal & PV panels, combined-heat & power systems, biomass systems and water & ground source heat pumps will no longer require planning permission, so long as there is no negative impact on neighbours or the area.

What is a U value? on April 30th, 2007
Now often quoted in building or building part specification, a U-value is placed upon an assembly of components to rate how well that assemblage performs in terms of energy efficiency.

Posted in Essential information for barn converters |

One Response

  1. BREEAM ~ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method | my barn conversion Says:

    […] Code for Sustainable Homes by mbc on May 16th, 2008 […]

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