CODE 5 Housing


The Structural fabric of an Affresol home.


Every Affresol home is designed to be robust and durable.

Foundations (Sub-Structure)

The foundations will be designed by an engineer to reflect the requirements of the site on which the Affresol house is to be built. The Affresol structural engineers are focussed on sustainability and recommend foundation solutions that are Eco Friendly.

Walls.

The main load bearing structure of the Affresol house is a prefabricated frame that is bolted together with stainless steel bolts. The Frame is made from TPR (link to TPR), which allows the whole structure to be built in less than a week and provides the barrier to water and draughts. The external cladding can be brick, block, or stone. There will be a minimum cavity of 100mm between the external cladding and the frame. The cavity will be filled with “high performance” insulation. Internally, the Affresol house will have a lining of plasterboard to allow cable distribution. The walls don’t need any frequent maintenance as a result. If the occupier plans to undertake DIY such as shelving or mirrors, then there is no need to put plugs into the walls. Make a small pilot hole into the TPR Frame then screw straight into the frame, this will provide a very strong fixing point. One point to note is that, the occupier should always use a cable detector to ensure they don’t drill into a live wire.

Roofs

The roof trusses are made from timber using sustainably grown and certified wood, delivered to site. The trusses are covered with a ply board covering over which a breathable membrane is attached. Insulation is fitted between the trusses underneath the ply covering. Affresol uses roof tiles that are made from recycled materials. Loft space is insulated in line with Code 5 guidelines.

Cost of Running and maintaining a Code 5 House

Each Affresol house has been designed to emit zero carbon through the year for all the insitu hard-wired equipment. This means that the home occupiers bills are only going to equate the energy they choose to use, and when they are not using the energy that is being generated it will be bought by the National Grid through the Feed In Tariff. So although the Affresol Code 5 house may have cost a bit more to build, but the occupier’s bills should be lower. However, the energy usage per house is down to how the occupants live which in turn will dictate their own energy usage, but on average Affresol estimate that in a 2 Bedroom house the utilities bills could be in the region of…


With regard to maintenance costs, each Affresol home is substantial and has been built to last. This will ensure that the energy used (embodied) within the house is spent as slowly as possible. This means that the occupier has lower maintenance costs than an average traditionally built home.

Affresol have assessed the one ‘life cycle’ of the home over a 30 year period and we estimate that the maintenance cost per annum will be around £650. This takes account of replacement of items such as windows, M&E, sanitary ware, and kitchens. However, the majority of the house load bearing superstructure should last for several of these ‘lifecycles’. Affresol homes are constructed using fully sustainable materials which can be recycled at the end of the homes life.

Heating.

Affresol homes are insulated to a very high standard and all windows and external doors are equally well insulated. In the case of the windows, via triple glazing or argon gas filled.

As a result of the insitu insulation and thermal characteristics of the TPR (Thermo Poly Rock) superstructure there is not a huge requirement for heating in an Affresol House. However, the house will require some heating and we have tried to be flexible. Affresol will provide a heating system that will operate in two modes... “Summer” and “Winter” modes.

The heating system is simple and allows to occupier to switch between “summer” and “Winter” modes as the weather changes. All Affresol homes will be fitted with a heat exchange ventilation system that extracts warm wet air to be replaced by fresh air. In the winter the fresh air is passed into the house at room temperature, whilst in the summer the air will be cooled.

The heating system is based around “Heat Pump” renewable technology. The Heat Pump itself is powered by the electricity generated from the solar Panel system. As a result each Affresol home will have a zero Carbon Footprint.

Water

Affresol anticipate that all of its homes will be fitted with a smart water meter linked to the local Water Utility Company via the internet. The stop cock will be located under the stairs by the front door in all Affresol homes.

It is important in any low energy house that mains water is maintained at a sustainable level. In order to achieve this level, the sanitary ware each Affresol home will be selected to ensure the rate of water flow that is ample for the occupier’s requirements yet minimises waste. Affresol would expect that every house would have a rainwater harvesting system for toilet flushing and all garden needs.

Affresol would normally expect the water heating to be taken care of by solar panels. The panels will heat the water in a thermal store to be used as and when required. If there is a situation where there is not enough hot water from the thermal store then the Heat Pump will come on line to provide reliable renewable heat energy for your hot water needs.

Electricity

The home smart meter can also be linked to your chosen electricity supplier and it will monitor both the energy you generate and sell with the photovoltaic panels and the energy you buy in from your electricity supplier. The smart meters are linked to your energy display unit that will also provide the occupier with an instant summary the current energy used plus historical usage.

TV/Internet/Phone

The internet/phone provider will have access to the Affresol house via the pre-installed ductwork and cabling already installed in the house. Every room will have data/ phone connections, with additional points in the living room and the home office.

Waste Recycling.

Each Affresol kitchen is fitted with three bins to allow you to sort your waste as per the above collections - each bin is bigger than 20 litres in size but you can choose which to use for what! Subject to the design specification, Affresol recommend that the occupier’s garage should be supplied with three large external bins to empty the kitchen bins in too; these should be ventilated and suitable for the council to collect from, the occupier just needs to remember to put them out on the correct day...

The garden will have a compost bin which can take any uncooked plant matter. Compost is easy to make and will help the occupier to look after the garden at no cost.

White Goods

Where the Affresol house comes with all the white goods fitted then they would be specified as follows:

Affresol would recommend that the dishwasher and washing machines have a “delay start” function; setting these to run in the early hours of the morning as this will help to lower carbon footprint and should save the occupier money if the electricity comes with a twin tariff supply.

Drying Space

Affresol would recommend that each house is designed with an internal all-weather drying space that should be fully integrated in to the concept design of the building. This should remove the need for a tumble drier. Avoiding a tumble drier could save the occupier £75 per year in electricity and, obviously, lowers your carbon footprint.

The clothes drying space should be designed to be concealed from visitors (normally on the first floor of the house above the stairwell). Each Affresol house has been designed to ensure that this space is warm and able to cope with the moist air.

Secured by Design.

Each Affresol home will be designed with the security of the occupier in mind and will comply with the Police’s “Secured by Design” standard for both the doors & windows fitted and the general arrangement of the house. Each Affresol house will be fitted with movement operated security low energy lights in the back garden. These will be located carefully so that they don’t disturb the wildlife foraging routes which may passes across the garden.