Research

Sustainable housing project 'SHINE's at new development

A pioneering sustainable social housing project in Leicestershire is currently being rolled out by a team of experts from the University.

The project is designed to support Charnwood Borough Council in attaining forthcoming ultra energy efficient standards for new homes, making them compliant with the Government’s ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’ standard.

Nine sustainable homes are being built altogether and staff and students from Loughborough’s Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) are working closely with the Council, the architect and the main contractor to ensure that the new homes deliver real low carbon performance in practice.

The cooperation is part of an East Midlands Development Agency-funded project called SHINE (Sustainable Homes Innovation Network of Excellence). The University has led the project since 2008, in conjunction with partners in the construction industry, local government and academia.

“What we are aiming to achieve is real-life low carbon dwellings that meet the comfort needs of occupants in practice, not simply by design,” explains project leader Dr Paul Rowley of CREST. “We are keen to support sustainability initiatives in our own community wherever we can and this is the first fully-evaluated and monitored social housing project of its kind in Leicestershire.”

The team are applying the approach to a number of new affordable homes across the borough, with CO2 levels, humidity, temperature and energy equipment performance being measured to give a more holistic picture of how these sustainable properties actually perform in everyday life.