Sustainability – Lansberry

Sustainability

With the ever-increasing energy cost for running homes as well as Government targets and ever growing environmental awareness and concerns, it is becoming ever more beneficial to reduce the demand for additional heating and cooling of properties. This can be achieved with some careful consideration towards the design, building orientation and product selection for building materials, appropriate sustainable and renewable technologies and A rated appliances. These must be selected with a full understanding of the site specifics such as building orientation, micro and macro environment in order to achieve the best result.
For example; If the roof can be designed to be south facing then a solar panel system such as photo voltaic or solar thermal could be installed to perform at their best.

Education is the key to the success of achieving a sustainable home with low running costs, not just for individuals within the construction industry but for the general public who also need to understand how to get their property to perform its most efficient level.

Leasey Lodge

Very Sustainable 4 Bedroom Property set in approx 4 Acres.
Large Basement with Cinema, Utility, Swimming Pool, Shower/Changing Room, Plant Room,
Ground Floor: Large Kitchen and Open Plan Dinner, Living Room, Cloak Room, 4 Beds, One En Suite, Family Bathroom.

  • Heat Pumps: Heating the Whole house Underfloor Heating and Pool Water Heating
  • Rain Water: To fill the Toilet Cisterns
  • Photo Voltaic (PV) Panels: Generate Electricity and Feed back to grid with RHI
  • High levels of Insulation for the time of build
  • Regeneration of part of a brownfield site
  • UV Reflective, self cleaning glass
  • Quality Materials with good thermal qualities for the structure
  • • A Rated Appliances

All of which help keep down the Running Costs!

Check out some of the press coverage we achieved during the build

In January 2011, my family and I placed our trust in Lansberry, to build us the house of our dreams. The house is unique with an imaginative design, combining the latest in technology with cutting edge ecological innovation in a traditional barn appearance, build in sympathy with the local environment. It was a leap of faith involving all our savings plus some and I am delighted to say the building was completed on time and on budget and surpassed our expectations, with the after service you can only get from a family firm who take a pride in their work.

Mr P Moody, Leasey Lodge

Environmentally Friendly and Cost Effective

There are two basic types of Heat Pumps, Air Source and Ground Source.

They create heating by taking heat from either the air or ground and transferring it to the heating system. They do this by using the same principles as a refrigerator but in reverse.

  • Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
  • Can use with under floor heating and traditional radiator systems.
  • Low maintenance.
  • Flexible applications.
There are two types of Solar Panel systems, Photo Voltaic (Solar PV) and Solar Thermal Water Heating.

Solar PV is a system that Utilise the suns solar rays to generate free electricity. It relies on the light rather than the heat to generate power through the photovoltaic cells in the panels on the roof. This means that they work even through winter and also on cloudy days.

With the use of a converter, the electricity gets transferred from DC into the usable AC current that is used for power. Any spare electricity generated is fed back into the Grid.

Solar Water Heating looks similar to the PV systems but instead of collecting the suns energy in cells it captures it in a series of tubes or in flat plate panels and uses the heated water to heat water in cylinder directly.

Some Incentives and Benefits:
  • Cash back schemes and incentives for electricity produced (PV)
  • Reduce Energy Bills / Money Saving for the Consumer
  • Impact on the Environment / Reducing Carbon Foot Print
  • Improves Grid security
  • Can be used with Battery / Electricity storage (PV)
  • Can use the electricity to power your home or charge electric cars etc (PV)
  • Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Impact
  • Easy to install
Allows rainwater to be collected from the gutters or surface gullies in a holding tank and it can be utilised for flushing toilet cisterns, or watering the garden, cleaning cars etc. There are also systems called Grey Water Harvesting, which can re use the water from washing machines, baths etc and with a cleansing process can enable the water to be re used.

  • Reduce water bills/saving money for the Consumer.
  • Versatile systems for different applications available for non-drinking uses
  • Reduces Flooding and Erosion
  • Rainwater doesn’t produce scale and corrosion
  • Can improve plant growth
This is a mechanical ventilation system that draws in fresh air from the outside of a building and with a series of ducts pushes it around to an out let in each room to provide new fresh air and another vent in the room draws out air and back to the mechanical unit and then back out side. It ensures constant air circulation.

Incentives

  • Reducing Carbon Foot Print
  • Improves air quality with out whilst minimising heat loss
  • Improves health
  • Good for Hey fever and Asthma sufferers
  • Keeps indoor temperature at a constant climate
  • No trickle vents or mechanical bathroom fans required
  • Eliminates mould, mildew and tackles condensation

There are other products and techniques that are very useful to utilise in construction to help create sustainable and greener buildings. These all help reduce the CO2 Emissions on the Environment; can save running costs in the long run reduce maintenance costs for the consumer.




A few examples

  • Installing A rated energy efficient appliances
  • Use clothes drier lines
  • Compost heaps and recycling facilities in the property
  • Rain water butts from down pipes
  • Air tightness performance test to establish a buildings performance and where improvements can be made
  • Eliminate thermal bridging and heat loss by careful design
  • Quality controls in place to ensure that the materials are installed to manufacturer’s recommendations and requirements and to ensure they are fit for purpose
  • Quality thermal and Acoustic Insulations
  • Renewable materials, timber or other natural materials
  • A Rated appliances
  • New Windows and Doors with higher U Values
  • Green Roofs
  • Utilise more of the building for accommodation, such as the attic or create a basement
  • Recycling Facilities
  • LED Lights
Take advantage of renewable incentives and tax breaks
  • Mr R Evans

    "From the onset Nick was very personable and seemed very knowledgeable about the task ahead. He is probably more used to undertaking larger projects but he seemed to give this his full attention throughout the process. He coordinated his colleagues well and I was impressed with the final results. Good value for money particularly as we were working to a tight timescale which he met. Great Results, On Time, High Integrity."

    Mr R Evans
    Dicket Mead
  • Mr D Fraser

    "Work done for us was excellent and there was no problems in getting the final finsihing off done. Would recommend to anyone who requires building alterations, construction services or housing & property developers. ."

    Mr D Fraser
    High Ash
  • Mr H Wright

    "Overall excellent work from Lansberry Ltd"

    Mr H Wright
    Burton Close
  • Mr Veasey

    "Nick and his team at Lansberry are in danger of giving builders a good name! Aside of there competence in building to architect's drawings and managing the many obstacles en-route they also possess the necessary attributes of any quality service provider. They were punctual, attentive to detail, clean (as much as possible!) and treated me like a paying client as opposed to just the next meal ticket. I will be hiring Nick and Lansberry again and would recommend them to anybody doing extension or new build development in Hertfordshire"

    Mr Veasey
    Stevenage Road
  • Mrs O Boyle

    "I was so happy with the work carried out by Nick and his team. They were all really friendly and always happy to answer any of my questions. As well a checking with me that I was happy with how progress was going and if any issues came up, I was notified straight away. I would recommend them to all my friends who are having building or extensions work done in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. And when I have some more work done I will definitely be going back to Nick"

    Mrs O Boyle
    Necton Road
  • Mr L Wilcox

    "Our small job was carried out to a high standard"

    Mr L Wilcox
    High Ash
  • Mr P Moody

    "In January 2011, my family and I placed our trust in Lansberry, to build us the house of our dreams. The house is unique with an imaginative design, combining the latest in technology with cutting edge ecological innovation in a traditional barn appearance, build in sympathy with the local environment. It was a leap of faith involving all our savings plus some and I am delighted to say the building was completed on time and on budget and surpassed our expectations, with the after service you can only get from a family firm who take a pride in their work."

    Mr P Moody
    Leasey Lodge