Zero-carbon home generates income by making more energy than it needs

The home of the future could slash your utility bills and generate enough money to help pay the mortgage. UK firm <a href="http://www.koruarchitects.co.uk" target="_blank">Koru Architects</a> designed and built one such house, named the Lloyd House, that’s effectively <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/zero-carbon" target="_blank">zero-carbon</a> and runs entirely on renewable energy. Tucked away on a quiet street in England’s East Sussex, this contemporary home generates more energy than it consumes and even brings in a net income of £2650 per year from solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, and a wood-chip biomass boiler.

Completed in 2011 as a case study, the Lloyd House is a large and contemporary three-bedroom home that only consumes around half the energy of a typical UK household thanks to its use of passive solar design, energy efficient appliances, effective insulation, and high airtightness.

The home was built with mostly natural materials including sustainably sourced timber for the cladding and flooring, zinc roofing, hemp and wood-fiber insulation, recycled glass in the kitchen countertops, and lime-based natural plants.

A 4,700-liter Freewater UK Elite rainwater harvesting system collects rainwater for reuse in irrigation, the washing machine, and the dual-flush toilets.

The Lloyd House produces all the hot water it needs for domestic use and for the underfloor heating with a 6-kilowatt solar thermal system and a 10.5-kilowatt wood-pellet boiler.

A twelve 340-kilowatt peak solar array provides around 3800 kilowatt-hour of electricity annually, which is more than it uses thanks to its energy-efficient measures.

Excess energy is exported to the grid and, with the help of renewable heat incentive and feed-in-tariff schemes, the home brings in a net annual income of £2650 ($3,300 USD) after bills are subtracted.

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Lloyd Close by Koru Architects

Section view.

Plan view

Rendering

Sustainability diagram.

The home of the future could slash your utility bills and generate enough money to help pay the mortgage. UK firm <a href="http://www.koruarchitects.co.uk" target="_blank">Koru Architects</a> designed and built one such house, named the Lloyd House, that’s effectively <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/zero-carbon" target="_blank">zero-carbon</a> and runs entirely on renewable energy. Tucked away on a quiet street in England’s East Sussex, this contemporary home generates more energy than it consumes and even brings in a net income of £2650 per year from solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, and a wood-chip biomass boiler.

The home of the future could slash your utility bills and generate enough money to help pay the mortgage. UK firm <a href="http://www.koruarchitects.co.uk" target="_blank">Koru Architects</a> designed and built one such house, named the Lloyd House, that’s effectively <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/zero-carbon" target="_blank">zero-carbon</a> and runs entirely on renewable energy. Tucked away on a quiet street in England’s East Sussex, this contemporary home generates more energy than it consumes and even brings in a net income of £2650 per year from solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, and a wood-chip biomass boiler.