Rising energy costs and concerns about global warming are pushing many environmentally-conscious home buyers to look for solutions to reduce their carbon footprint. Now an award-winning new development of passive homes in Kent promises luxurious, ultra-eco-friendly living at competitive prices, in a move that developer Vilasana Homes hopes will signal a step-change in housing design.
Heating homes accounts for more than 15% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Built to stringent passive housing standards, Vilasana Homes prioritise reductions in energy consumption utilising the latest technology and innovations in insultation and ventilation. The new homes reduce energy consumption by up to 80%, while all electricity is supplied by partners using 100% renewable sources.
Passive homes, which reduce energy consumption by dramatically improving insulation to reduce heat loss, have featured on programmes such as Grand Designs for many years, but have been unattainable for most home buyers due to high costs.
However, the 15-home development at Scocles Court, near Minister on Sea in Kent, approximately one hour from London, proves that a shift to low-energy living, with an additional emphasis on the health and personal wellbeing of residents, can be achievable at comparable prices to standard housing developments.
Vilasana Homes has placed environmental and human wellbeing above profit margins and cost control, and launched Scocles Court with large, luxuriously appointed family passive houses starting at just £550,000. The development is based on an English hamlet concept, using traditional Kent barn-style homes, giving a contemporary feel shrouded in traditional design.
Charlie Vavasour, a spokesman for Vilasana Homes, said: “For too long, eco-living with high specifications meant prices that were unaffordable to all but the super-rich. By reducing profit margins and using intelligent design and development practises, Vilasana has managed to develop top-specification, fully featured and high-quality passive homes at prices that many more people can afford”.
“The development at Scocles Court represents the future of house construction and our aim is to show that eco-living, smart homes and value for money are not mutually exclusive. We have validated this ambitious home-building vision and shown that it is possible, and this bodes well for the future of sustainable house building in the country.”
All of the homes at Scocles Court have been built using long-lasting hyper-insulated cores and specialised triple glazing. The building core ensures the durability and longevity of the homes is far superior to many other forms of passive house construction. The hyper-insulated core also results in electricity bills being reduced by up to 80%.
A further innovation by Vilasana Homes is to use the air purification system to induce heating via one single, low-energy consumption heating element, rather than add underfloor heating to some rooms. Unlike underfloor heating, this immediately provides heat to the whole house, in every room, using hot (and purified) air, but with less energy consumption than the underfloor heating required for just one room.
The Scocles Court development is part of a three-year, £20 million programme of sustainable home-building in the country.
Scocles Court is one of England’s most beautiful new executive homes developments. It has won the “Highly Commended” award in three categories (“Best Small Development“, “Best Out of London Home” and “Eco-Living“) at the coveted 2019 Evening Standard New Homes Awards – the joint highest of any developer in Britain.
Scocles Court is also a prestigious RESI Awards finalist for 2019 “Development of The Year”. Each home features copious amounts of natural light, large living spaces, and an almost endless list of premium features and technologies fitted at no extra cost.
Situated in Minster, on the picturesque Isle of Sheppey, a property hotspot approximately 45-60 minutes from London, this elegant sustainable development consists of 4, 5 and 6 bedroom executive family houses.
An outdoor gym, two landscaped ponds, picnic and outdoor homework areas, EV chargers, super-fast fibre, and hundreds of trees and plants coupled with beautifully designed outdoor lighting makes this one of the most pleasant and sensitively made new homes developments anywhere in the country.