ainsworth hales case study


	HOUSE AINSWORTH HALES, HERTFORDSHIRE "We needed to move due to an expanding family, and a plot of land came up for sale in the area we wanted to live, it was too good to miss so we bought the land and started our journey. Firstly we had to decide what we wanted to build and ended up with this brief: an eco friendly, family house, designed by ourselves, project managed by people with a great deal more experience than us! We looked at a lot of different companies and then we came across Baufritz, they seemed to encapsulate everything we required. Their energy efficient bespoke houses could deliver everything we wanted and to a timescale we required. They also had a lot of knowledge regarding the latest green technologies that were an essential element in our build." Kacey Ainsworth
	Background Known for her roles as Little Mo in EastEnders and Inspector Jenny Black in HolbyBlue, Kacey wanted to build an eco-friendly home with her partner Darren but was determined not to live in a box, preferring instead to have a much more distinctive looking building with architectural flair. Kacey and Darren came to Baufritz with some outline plans from another architect, but they weren’t completely satisfied as the geometry of the building did not work well and the room layouts did not fulfill their needs. They asked Baufritz to re-design the house to improve the layout and amend the shape from that of a crescent to that of an orange segment! The couple wanted to have a home with a high quality finish that has the principles of health and ecology at its core. With a new baby on the way it was vital that they find a reliable building partner that could deliver within their timescale and budget and they felt that Baufritz was the only company that could meet all their criteria. Kacey and Darren demolished their bungalow on the site to make way for their new eco-home. The result is a unique 170m² 4-bedroom property with two curved external radial walls. It is the most energy efficient house we have built so far in the UK, consuming the equivalent of only 3 litres of heating oil per square metre per annum, compared to 25 litres/m² in a typical UK house. This is achieved as a result of the highly energy efficient Baufritz walls which have a U-value of only 0.16 W/m²K combined with an efficient wood pellet heating system.
	The Exterior The house is, quite literally, the shape of an orange segment, flat on one side with two inter-linking radial curves on the other. The larger curve is rendered in off-white and the smaller of the two is clad in larch. A plant room extends to the rear of the building and follows the curve of the building. There is a balcony at each corner to capture the morning and evening sun. The windows are triple glazed with a timber frame and the exterior sills are aluminium powder coated in grey. The house has been built on top of a concrete foundation slab that was constructed by Baufritz’s partner company, Glatthaar, Europe’s No 1 basement builders. The shell of the building took just two days to assemble and the building will be complete in July 2008.
	The Interior On the ground floor there is a WC and cloakroom, a large 51m² open-plan lounge and kitchen/ diner, children’s playroom and an office. Off the ground floor there is a plant room which will house the wood pellet boiler and water tank as well as acting as a utility room. Upstairs is a master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite bathroom, three further bedrooms and a family bathroom. The house has wooden beech floors downstairs and sisal carpets upstairs. There is under-floor heating on the ground floor with radiators upstairs.
	The Utilities Electrics – Cat 5 data cabling. Heating – Kacey and Darren will have a sustainable and super efficient wood pellet boiler system. There is under-floor heating on the ground floor and in all the bathroom and there are radiators in all the other rooms.. The couple will install solar panels on the flat roof at a later date. Ventilation - To ensure that they enjoy consistently good air quality and to save valuable heating energy through heat recovery, Baufritz installed 6 decentralised reverse fans (LTMs) with heat recovery in various locations through out the house. The LTM extracts warm air from the room, passes it through the heat exchanger and the heat extracted from the air is stored in the unit. The fan changes direction and fresh air brought in from outside passes through the unit and is warmed by the stored heat before entering the room. In warm weather the effect is reversed, thus cooling the warmer outside air before it enters the house. The LTM units can be controlled from a central location, thus optimising performance. Thermal Efficiency The external walls are 40cm thick (as is standard in all Baufritz homes) and packed with Baufritz’s patented wood shaving insulation which is proven to be highly thermally efficient. The wood shavings are left over from the manufacturing process so waste is minimised; they are protected from fire, fungus and pests using a natural treatment made from soda and whey. The use of the Baufritz wall construction also dramatically reduces energy consumption. This can be shown in three ways: Energy loss through thermal transfer is only 0.16 W/m²K compared to 0.45 W/m²K in a conventional brick wall. Energy consumption level per annum is only 40 kWh/m² in a Baufritz house compared to 250 kWh/m² in a typical UK house Heating Oil consumption per annum is only 3 litres/m² in this house compared to 25 litres/m² in a typical UK house These thick walls are breathable which ensures that condensation is removed from the atmosphere faster than it is generated, making the living environment inside the house comfortable and fresh. Air tightness is a crucial factor in any home energy consumption. Baufritz design each home with windows and doors already in place, the fit is perfect, resulting in excellent air tightness.
	Healthy Building In terms of health; the house also incorporates, “XUND-E”, a unique protective shielding concept, which dramatically reduces the amount of electromagnetic radiation penetrating the home which does not interfere with electronics such as cordless phones and baby monitors. The XUND-E plate, which has been patented by Baufritz, comprises thin layers of carbon with a layer of natural gypsum board, which is then applied to the walls and roofs and then earthed. This layer cuts out up to 99% of all high-frequency radiation and low frequency static emissions cause by alternating currents flowing through high tension cables. Various studies throughout Europe and the world prove a definitive relation between the increase of cancer and neurological diseases and high frequency radiation and the protection from this harmful influence can also enhance sleep quality for those living in the house. This innovative product is fitted as standard to all Baufritz homes. This innovative product is fitted as standard to all Baufritz homes. Kacey and Darren’s house is built entirely from bio-constructive, efficient and natural materials as is standard for all Baufritz homes. Baufritz uses non-chemically treated building materials, natural products and building methods to ensure a better quality of day to day living. Baufritz makes regular checks for radioactivity, formaldehyde, chemical wood preservation methods (use of PCP, Lindane) on all its building products and materials to ensure they are not present. The company exclusively uses pollutant-tested, high-quality and environmentally-friendly construction and insulation materials and components. All these ‘healthy’ elements of Baufritz houses have been jointly developed with doctors and building biologists to enhance the occupants wellbeing.
	Sustainability Only the best quality Larch and Spruce wood go into making a Baufritz home, logged from sustainable forests to provide resource for future generations. Baufritz undertakes extensive tree planting schemes to mark its active approach to environmental protection. Each home built by Baufritz comes with a unique promise; because the materials used to build it are 100% biodegradable, the home can be completely returned to nature in several generations if required. Baufritz believes that contemporary ecology should be economically beneficial too, which is why it uses only the best quality materials to maximum efficiency. All materials used are tested for longevity, functional effectiveness and impact on the environment. *Carbon Positive A Baufritz house is carbon positive because each house locks away more CO2 than is emitted during its construction and manufacture (including transportation emissions and those from the running of the house for the first 5-10 years). About 14.85 tonnes of carbon dioxide was used in the production, transport and installation of their house. Around 88.33 tonnes of carbon dioxide is stored within the timber construction making their house about 73.48 tonnes carbon positive. The CO2 calculation is measured using a recognised independent German system developed by Professor Koenig which takes into account carbon emissions from the very start of the process to include the manufacture, construction, transportation of the house. Baufritz was the first German construction company to take the independent ‘EU Eco Audit’ in 1996, which we have passed every time since (this audit measures and monitors all emissions resulting from the manufacturing and construction process).
	Baufritz (UK) Ltd. Phone: 01223 235632 Fax: 01223 237925 enquiries@baufritz.co.uk		Registered in England and Wales at The Workplace, Oakington Road, Cambridge CB3 0QH Registered No. 5679302