Earthdome created in suburbia
Thursday 1 April 2004
The Ecology Building Society is privileged to support the award-winning Earthdome project in London. The Earthdome is London's first domestic geothermal housing development and has recently been awarded the prestigious Green Apple Environment Award at the House of Commons. The award was presented to Bob Harris, a lecturer in Eco-building and the project owner, at the House of Commons.
The development of 4 eco-flats is underway on land adjoining Bob's former family home in the leafy suburb of Norbury, London. The flats will be the first homes in London to have geothermal hot water and heating. Geothermal heating uses the Earth as a heat source, relying on the relative warmth of the Earth for heat production. A system of pipes leading from the flats and into the ground below will transfer heat from the warmer earth to the building via a ground source heat pump, to provide all the space and water heating. As the heat is simply moved from one area to another, rather than being created, geothermal heating is the most energy efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective form of heating.
The Ecology Building Society specialises in lending on ecological new builds, which utilise energy efficient systems and materials to reduce the impact of house building on the environment. The Society provides residential mortgage finance for individuals building their dream eco-homes, as well as small-scale development finance for those who want to improve the quality of the housing stock by building eco-homes to sell. Ecology mortgages are also available for the renovation and conversion of run-down or derelict buildings, bringing them back into use is seen as a form of recycling.
The Ecology itself has recently moved to its new purpose built ecological headquarters in West Yorkshire, which is a showcase for the Society's commitment to sustainable building. The Society is delighted to be able to support Bob Harris' innovative and groundbreaking project, which will hopefully encourage others to approach house building in an ecological way.
