Britain’s first low cost ‘energy positive’ house, which can generate more electricity than its occupants will use, opens today despite George Osborne axing plans to make house builders meet tough low carbon housing targets from next year.

 

The modest three-bedroom house built in just 16 weeks on an industrial estate outside Bridgend in Wales cost just £125,000 to build and, said its Cardiff University designers, will let occupants use the sun to pay the rent.

 

Using batteries to store the electricity which it generates from the solar panels that function as the roof and more panels in the garden, and having massive amounts of insulation to reduce energy use in winter months, it should be able to export electricity to the national grid for eight months of the year.

 

For every £100 spent on electricity used, it should be able to generate £175 in electricity exports, said Professor Phil Jones, whose team from the Welsh School of Architecture designed the house specifically to meet the low carbon housing targets set by the Labour government in 2006.

 

These were scrapped last week by the Conservative government on the grounds that house builders should not be over-regulated.

 

According to Jones, the building costs of the 100 square meter energy positive house could drop below £100,000 if several were built at the same time

 

 

PHOTO: The Solcer House at Cenin in Stormy Down, Wales, was built as part of the Low Carbon Research Institute programme. For every £100 spent on electricity used, it should be able to generate £175 in electricity exports.

CREDIT: Cardiff University.