INTEGER Millennium House: Difference between revisions
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The '''INTEGER Millennium House''' is a demonstration house in [[Watford]], [[England]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = http://www.ecbcs.org/docs/Annex_38_UK_Watford.pdf|title = The INTEGER Millennium House, Watford, UK|date = |accessdate = 8 January 2015|website = Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme|publisher = [[International Energy Agency]]|last = |first = }}</ref> It was renamed '''The Smart Home''' after being refurbished in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.building4change.com/article.jsp?id=2020|title = Refurb demo house launches in Watford|last = Smit|first = Jo|date = 2 October 2013|work = Building4change|access-date = 8 January 2015|publisher = [[BRE Trust]]}}</ref> The origins of the INTEGER Millennium House date to May 1996 seminar about [[green building]], which catalyzed the formation of a design team to "evaluate available design and technical solutions to improve housing performance". The efforts of this design team culminated with the creation of a [[physical model|model of a house]].<ref name=":0" /> Damian Bree, Tim Day, Paul Hodgkins, and Nicholas Thompson began designing the INTEGER Millennium House itself in October 1997, a process that proceeded for 10 weeks.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url = http://www.architech.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=58|title = BBC Dream House|accessdate = 8 January 2015|website = BDP|publisher = Bree Day Partnership}}</ref> Built on [[Building Research Establishment]] property in [[Garston, Hertfordshire|Garston]], Watford, the actual construction of the house took 13 weeks, and it opened to the public in 1998.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Built as a demonstration project without a budget, the INTEGER Millennium House utilized expertise and materials donated by suppliers without cost to the project.<ref name=":0" /> The entire house was constructed with standard, off-the-shelf components, and neither prototypes nor experimental components were used for building it.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> |
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{{Infobox building |
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| name = INTEGER Millennium House <br/> The Smart Home |
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| former_names = |
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| alternate_names = |
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| image = |
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| image_alt = |
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| image_size = |
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| caption = |
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| location = [[Garston, Hertfordshire|Garston]], [[Watford]], England, United Kingdom |
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| location_country = United Kingdom |
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| coordinates = {{coord|51|41|55.87|N|0|22|32.04|W|display=inline}} |
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| start_date = 1997 |
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| completion_date = 1998 |
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| inauguration_date = |
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| demolition_date = |
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| architect = Damian Bree (Dip Arch Tech), <br/> Tim Day (RIBA), <br/> Paul Hodgkins (RIBA), <br/> Nicholas Thompson (RIBA) |
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| landlord = |
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| owner = |
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| cost = |
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| floor_area = {{Convert| 3,000|sqft|m2|abbr = on|adj = on}} |
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| floor_count = |
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| awards = 1998 European Intelligent Building of the Year, <br/> 1999 National Homebuilders Award for Ecology, <br/> 2000 Homes Award for Innovation, <br/> 2003 National Homebuilders Award for House of the Future |
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| parking = |
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| url = |
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| references = <ref name="IEA" /><ref name="BDP" /><ref name="Greenroofs.com" /><ref name="Cole Thompson Anders" /> |
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| map_type = England |
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| map_alt = |
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| map_caption = Location within England |
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| altitude = |
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| building_type = House |
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| architectural_style = |
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| structural_system = |
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| client = |
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| current_tenants = |
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| height = |
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| other_dimensions = |
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| structural_engineer = |
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| services_engineer = |
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| civil_engineer = |
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| other_designers = |
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| quantity_surveyor = |
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| main_contractor = |
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| diameter = |
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}} |
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The '''INTEGER Millennium House''' is a demonstration house in [[Watford]], England that opened to the public in 1998. It was renamed '''The Smart Home''' after being refurbished in 2013. The house was originally intended to showcase innovations in design and construction, building intelligence, and environmental performance. The INTEGER design included many innovative features, including [[environmental technology]] such as a [[green roof]] and a [[greywater|grey water]] recycling system, [[home automation]] that included a [[building automation|building management system]] and an intelligent [[security system]], and innovative technical systems such as [[underfloor heating|under-floor trench heating]]. In 2013, the house was refurbished and retrofitted with a variety of new and upgraded features, including a [[building-integrated photovoltaics|building-integrated photovoltaic]] (BIPV) array, which altogether halved its [[carbon emissions]] and increased its [[efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] by 50%. Since its creation, the house has garnered numerous awards, appeared on ''[[Tomorrow's World]]'' on [[BBC Television]], hosted thousands of visitors, and influenced mainstream construction. |
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The house was featured on two [[BBC Television]] programmes, both [[Tomorrow's World|''Tomorrow's World'']] and a six-part special series entitled ''DreamHouse''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> |
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== Design and construction == |
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The origins of the INTEGER Millennium House date to a May 1996 seminar about [[green building]], which catalysed the formation of the INTEGER building design and consultancy team to "evaluate available design and technical solutions to improve housing performance".<ref name="IEA">{{Cite web|url = http://www.ecbcs.org/docs/Annex_38_UK_Watford.pdf|title = The INTEGER Millennium House, Watford, UK|date = |accessdate = 8 January 2015|website = Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme|publisher = [[International Energy Agency]]|last = |first = |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213138/http://www.ecbcs.org/docs/Annex_38_UK_Watford.pdf|archive-date = 4 March 2016|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="Morris">{{Cite news|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/newhomes/3292623/Going-green-high-minded-chatter-or-practical-plan.html|archive-url = https://archive.today/20150105021007/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/newhomes/3292623/Going-green-high-minded-chatter-or-practical-plan.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 5 January 2015|title = Going green: high-minded chatter or practical plan?|last = Morris|first = Ann|date = 25 August 2001|work = [[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date = 10 January 2015}}</ref> The efforts of this design team resulted in the creation of a [[physical model|scale model of a house]], which has subsequently been widely exhibited at institutions such as the [[Science Museum, London]] as well as profiled in the [[Dorling Kindersley|DK]] [[Eyewitness Books|Eyewitness Book]] ''Future''.<ref name="IEA" /><ref name="Cole Thompson Anders" /><ref name="Tambini">{{Cite book|title = DK Eyewitness Books: Future|last = Tambini|first = Michael|publisher = [[Penguin Books]]|year = 2004|isbn = 0756682398|pages = 20–21|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=unNOIIQ-3jkC&pg=PA20}}</ref> |
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Damian Bree, Tim Day, Paul Hodgkins, and Nicholas Thompson began designing the INTEGER Millennium House itself in October 1997, a process that proceeded for 10 weeks.<ref name="BDP">{{Cite web|url = http://www.architech.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=58|title = BBC Dream House|accessdate = 8 January 2015|website = BDP|publisher = Bree Day Partnership}}</ref> Built on the [[Building Research Establishment]] (BRE)'s Innovation Park property in [[Garston, Hertfordshire|Garston]], Watford, the actual construction of the house took 13 weeks before it opened to the public in 1998.<ref name="IEA" /><ref name="BDP" /><ref name="e-architect">{{Cite web|url = http://www.e-architect.co.uk/england/integer-house-bre-watford|title = The Smart Home at BRE Watford|date = 16 November 2013|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = e-architect|publisher = World Architecture|last = Welch|first = AJ}}</ref> The resulting single-family, three-bedroom, {{Convert| 3,000|sqft|m2|abbr = on|adj = on}} demonstration house was intended to be a global showcase for innovations in design and construction, building intelligence, and environmental performance, as well as to raise general awareness about environmental design and sustainable construction.<ref name="Greenroofs.com">{{Cite web|url = http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview.php?id=35|title = INTEGER Millennium House|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = Greenroofs.com|publisher = Greenroofs.com, LLC}}</ref><ref name="e-architect" /><ref name="Building Futures">{{Cite web|url = http://www.hertslink.org/buildingfutures/materials/caseland/sushouse/|title = Exemplar Sustainable Housing|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = Building Futures|publisher = [[Hertfordshire County Council]]}}</ref> |
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Built as a demonstration project without a budget, the INTEGER Millennium House benefited from expertise and materials that were donated by suppliers without any cost to the project.<ref name="IEA" /> The entire house was constructed with standard components, many of which were [[prefabrication|prefabricated]], including [[concrete]] for the [[floor slab]]s and [[timber]] for the [[superstructure]], [[siding (construction)|cladding]], and frame.<ref name="IEA" /><ref name="Building Futures" /> Neither prototypes nor experimental components were used in the building of the house.<ref name="BDP" /> |
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== Features == |
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As originally built, the INTEGER Millennium House included numerous examples of [[environmental technology]], including a [[green roof]], [[wind turbine]], [[photovoltaic system|solar photovoltaic panels]], and [[solar water heating|solar water heaters]] capable of heating water up to {{Convert| 95|C|F}}. The house also featured a [[geothermal heat pump]], [[rainwater harvesting|rainwater collection and retention]] for both washing cars and watering gardens, and a [[greywater|grey water]] recycling system that reuses waste water from bathing and washing for toilet flushing, reducing water usage by roughly 30%.<ref name="IEA" /><ref name="BDP" /> Additionally, the south side of the house was built as a three-story glass [[conservatory (greenhouse)|conservatory]] designed to provide [[passive solar building design|passive heat gain]], although in direct sunlight it could overheat.<ref name="e-architect" /><ref name="Cambridge Network">{{Cite web|url = https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/bre-show-home-refurbishment-uses-revolutionary-polysolar6981/|title = BRE show home refurbishment uses revolutionary Polysolar transparent solar PV glazing|date = 11 September 2013|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = [[Cambridge Network]]|publisher = Cambridge Network Limited}}</ref> Altogether, the house achieved "Level 4 +" environmental performance according to the [[Code for Sustainable Homes]].<ref name="Cole Thompson Anders">{{Cite web|url = http://www.colethompson.co.uk/projects-housing.php?typeid=11&projectid=36&imageid=2|title = 2000: Watford, INTEGER Millennium House|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = Cole Thompson Anders Housing Projects|publisher = Cole Thompson Anders}}</ref> |
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The INTEGER Millennium House was also built with a variety of intelligent [[home automation]] technologies, including a [[building automation|building management system]] that could optimize the performance of the heating system, an automatic garden irrigation system that could sense soil humidity conditions and water accordingly, an intelligent [[security system]], lighting that could be set to one of four predefined moods, and microchip-embedded programmable door keys. The house also featured advanced communication technologies such as a [[telephone]] service distributed via a [[telephone exchange|local building exchange]], [[digital television|digital]] [[satellite television|satellite]] and [[terrestrial television]] available in every room, [[WebTV]], and a [[closed-circuit television]] (CCTV) system.<ref name="Hyde">{{Cite book|title = Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative Designs for Warm Climates|publisher = [[Routledge]]|year = 2012|isbn = 1136571140|pages = 38–39|editor-last = Hyde|editor-first = Richard|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=onMQBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref> |
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Furthermore, the INTEGER Millennium House included numerous innovative technical systems, including [[underfloor heating|under-floor trench heating]] controlled individually in each room by [[thermostat]], a central service core containing all of the house's cables and pipes in a vertical space designed to provide easy access for maintenance and upgrade, and timber-framed [[bathroom]] modules similar to those built for use in the [[offshore drilling|off-shore oil drilling]] industry.<ref name="IEA" /> |
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== Refurbishment == |
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In 2013, the BRE and [[British Gas]] collaborated to refurbish and retrofit the INTEGER Millennium House, which they renamed The Smart Home. As with the original build, there were neither budgets nor contracts for the refurbishment of The Smart Home, and many suppliers donated products and expertise to the effort.<ref name="e-architect" /> |
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Chief among the upgrades are a "whole house living system" that uses occupation sensors to control heating, lighting, security, ventilation, and water, a new solar thermal system along with an upgraded solar water heating system, and a [[building-integrated photovoltaics|building-integrated photovoltaic]] (BIPV) array within the glazing of the conservatory glass itself that generates electricity in addition to providing shade.<ref name="e-architect" /><ref name="Smit">{{Cite news|url = http://www.building4change.com/article.jsp?id=2020|title = Refurb demo house launches in Watford|last = Smit|first = Jo|date = 2 October 2013|work = Building4change|access-date = 8 January 2015|publisher = [[BRE Trust]]}}</ref> Built by Polysolar and rated at {{Convert| 3.3|kW|hp|abbr = on}}, the BIPV array provides The Smart Home with approximately {{Convert|3,500|kWh|hph|abbr = on}} of electricity annually, accounting for all of the house's daytime electric needs and approximately a third of its total energy requirements while also saving {{Convert| 1.8|LT|MT}} of [[carbon dioxide]].<ref name="e-architect" /><ref name="Cambridge Network" /> Furthermore, the thin film material used in the BIPV array allows it to absorb ambient and reflective light on both sides of the glass, which allows it to operate in most weather conditions. Additionally, it allows the red light that is vital for [[photosynthesis]] to pass through, making the glass conservatory highly suitable for growing plants.<ref name="e-architect" /> Hamish Watson, the CEO of Polysolar, described the use of such BIPV arrays as "an effective way of including energy micro-generation into the fabric of a building".<ref name="Southern Home Show">{{Cite web|url = http://www.southernhomeshow.co.uk/news/185-%E2%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BDhome-of-the-future%E2%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD-showcases-polysolar%E2%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BDs-innovative-building-integrated-photovoltaic-%28bipv%29-glass-roof|title = ‘Home of the future’ showcases Polysolar’s innovative building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) glass roof|date = 8 October 2013|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = The Southern Home Show|publisher = Carnah Events Ltd}}</ref> |
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Other upgrades made during the retrofit include the application of heat-reflective paint, insulating plaster, and [[phase-change material|phase changing material]] to improve the house's thermal performance, the use of light-reflective particles in interior paint to reduce lighting needs, and various other green and energy-efficient features, such as [[double glazing|double-glazed]] doors and windows, ducted skirting, and [[reclaimed lumber|reclaimed timber]] floors.<ref name="Smit" /> In all, the upgrades made to the house halved its [[carbon emissions]] and increased its [[efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] by 50%, while also upgrading the building's [[Energy Performance Certificate]] (EPC) rating from E to A/B.<ref name="Smit" /><ref name="BRE Group">{{Cite web|url = http://www.bre.co.uk/news/Reinventing-the-house-of-the-future-909.html|title = Reinventing the house of the future|date = 2 October 2013|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = BRE Group|publisher = [[Building Research Establishment]]}}</ref> |
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The Smart Home was officially opened to the public on 2 October 2013 by [[Dorothy Thornhill]], the [[Mayor of Watford]], and [[Kerry Pollard]], a former [[member of parliament]] from [[St Albans (UK Parliament constituency)|St Albans]] who had supported the original INTEGER project in 1998.<ref name="BRE Group" /> |
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== Awards and impact == |
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In its original iteration, the INTEGER Millennium House garnered numerous awards, including the European Intelligent Building of the Year (1998), the National Homebuilders Award for Ecology (1999), the Homes Award for Innovation (2000), and the National Homebuilders Award for House of the Future (2003).<ref name="Cole Thompson Anders" /> Furthermore, the house was featured on two [[BBC Television]] programmes, both ''[[Tomorrow's World]]'' and a six-part special series entitled ''DreamHouse''.<ref name="IEA" /><ref name="BDP" /> Between its opening as the INTEGER Millennium House in 1998 and its refurbishment as The Smart Home in 2013, the house was visited by more than 5,000 people.<ref name="Cambridge Network" /> |
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Additionally, many of the building's innovative features and technologies have been integrated into mainstream construction.<ref name="Cambridge Network" /> For instance, by April 2001, 12 two-bedroom [[apartment|flats]] with INTEGER-inspired features had been built in [[Harlow]], [[Essex]]. Core INTEGER-style technologies that were used in the flats included enhanced insulation and a high-efficiency communal [[boiler]] system that reduced energy demand by 50%, as well as reduced servicing by replacing 12 small boilers with two large ones, and a grey water recycling system that reduced water consumption by 30%.<ref name="The Housing Forum">{{Cite web|url = http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/pdf/case_studies/HF_primrose.pdf|title = Innovation case history: Primrose Field, Harlow|date = April 2001|accessdate = 10 January 2015|website = The Housing Forum|publisher = The Housing Forum}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{ |
{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141002221533/http://www.bre.co.uk/innovationpark/page.jsp?id=3188 Official BRE website for The Smart Home] |
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[[Category:Houses in Hertfordshire]] |
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[http://www.ecbcs.org/docs/Annex_38_UK_Watford.pdf] |
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[[Category:Buildings and structures in Watford]] |
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[http://www.architecture.com/FindAnArchitect/ArchitectPractices/BreeDayLtd/Projects/IntegerMillenniumHouse-AkaBbcDreamHouse.aspx] |
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[[Category:Residential buildings completed in 1998]] |
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[http://www.architech.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=58] |
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[http://www.colethompson.co.uk/projects-housing.php?typeid=11&projectid=36&imageid=2] |
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[http://www.southernhomeshow.co.uk/news/185-%E2%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BDhome-of-the-future%E2%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD-showcases-polysolar%E2%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BDs-innovative-building-integrated-photovoltaic-%28bipv%29-glass-roof] |
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[http://www.buildingconstructiondesign.co.uk/news/home-of-the-future-showcases-polysolars-innovative-building-integrated-photovoltaic-bipv-glass-roof/] |
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[http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview.php?id=35] |
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[http://www.architecture.com/FindAnArchitect/ArchitectPractices/ColeThompsonAnders/Projects/IntegerMillenniumHouse.aspx] |
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[http://www.bre.co.uk/news/Reinventing-the-house-of-the-future-909.html] |
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[http://www.building4change.com/article.jsp?id=2020] |
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[http://www.e-architect.co.uk/england/integer-house-bre-watford] |
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[http://www.colethompson.co.uk/projects-housing.php?subid=68&typeid=11] |
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[https://books.google.com/books?id=onMQBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=INTEGER+Millennium+House&source=bl&ots=34bxDSk_bR&sig=WaR2raAQKTn9P8ZiPKmM9vJlWzg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wu6pVPOoIYycygTdlYIg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=INTEGER%20Millennium%20House&f=false] |
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[https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/bre-show-home-refurbishment-uses-revolutionary-polysolar6981/] |
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[https://books.google.com/books?id=iADiH7_g03YC&pg=PA331&lpg=PA331&dq=INTEGER+Millennium+House&source=bl&ots=AFv3lJjTHI&sig=qdqPOFLihfAeCH3hvtc2DR-HzSI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wu6pVPOoIYycygTdlYIg&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=INTEGER%20Millennium%20House&f=false] |
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[https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/ticleanuc/~/405026/blogs?p_p_id=33&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1&p_r_p_564233524_tag=refurbishment] |
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[http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/pdf/case_studies/HF_primrose.pdf] |
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[https://books.google.com/books?id=ApR5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA310&lpg=PA310&dq=INTEGER+Millennium+House&source=bl&ots=zIFXrXxAzu&sig=iaUHuG12z8PmlX1C80Ov7-jjuMM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5e6pVJC6NIS0yATCrICgAw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=INTEGER%20Millennium%20House&f=false] |
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[http://www.british-gypsum.com/case-studies/case-studies-archive-a-to-h/dream-house] |
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[https://books.google.com/books?id=unNOIIQ-3jkC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=INTEGER+Millennium+House&source=bl&ots=9hPTl_JEkA&sig=dbJewAwIpBkwday7ksDKHmBsjcM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5e6pVJC6NIS0yATCrICgAw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=INTEGER%20Millennium%20House&f=false] |
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[http://www.hertslink.org/buildingfutures/materials/caseland/sushouse/] |
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[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/newhomes/3292623/Going-green-high-minded-chatter-or-practical-plan.html] |
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[http://www.westernhomeshow.co.uk/news/177-%E2%80%98home-of-the-future%E2%80%99-showcases-polysolar%E2%80%99s-innovative-building-integrated-photovoltaic-%28bipv%29-glass-roof] |
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Latest revision as of 06:03, 1 December 2022
| INTEGER Millennium House The Smart Home | |
|---|---|
  Location within England | |
| General information | |
| Type | House |
| Location | Garston, Watford, England, United Kingdom |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°41′55.87″N 0°22′32.04″W / 51.6988528°N 0.3755667°W |
| Construction started | 1997 |
| Completed | 1998 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 3,000 sq ft (280 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Damian Bree (Dip Arch Tech), Tim Day (RIBA), Paul Hodgkins (RIBA), Nicholas Thompson (RIBA) |
| Awards and prizes | 1998 European Intelligent Building of the Year, 1999 National Homebuilders Award for Ecology, 2000 Homes Award for Innovation, 2003 National Homebuilders Award for House of the Future |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
The INTEGER Millennium House is a demonstration house in Watford, England that opened to the public in 1998. It was renamed The Smart Home after being refurbished in 2013. The house was originally intended to showcase innovations in design and construction, building intelligence, and environmental performance. The INTEGER design included many innovative features, including environmental technology such as a green roof and a grey water recycling system, home automation that included a building management system and an intelligent security system, and innovative technical systems such as under-floor trench heating. In 2013, the house was refurbished and retrofitted with a variety of new and upgraded features, including a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) array, which altogether halved its carbon emissions and increased its energy efficiency by 50%. Since its creation, the house has garnered numerous awards, appeared on Tomorrow's World on BBC Television, hosted thousands of visitors, and influenced mainstream construction.
Design and construction
[edit]The origins of the INTEGER Millennium House date to a May 1996 seminar about green building, which catalysed the formation of the INTEGER building design and consultancy team to "evaluate available design and technical solutions to improve housing performance".[1][5] The efforts of this design team resulted in the creation of a scale model of a house, which has subsequently been widely exhibited at institutions such as the Science Museum, London as well as profiled in the DK Eyewitness Book Future.[1][4][6]
Damian Bree, Tim Day, Paul Hodgkins, and Nicholas Thompson began designing the INTEGER Millennium House itself in October 1997, a process that proceeded for 10 weeks.[2] Built on the Building Research Establishment (BRE)'s Innovation Park property in Garston, Watford, the actual construction of the house took 13 weeks before it opened to the public in 1998.[1][2][7] The resulting single-family, three-bedroom, 3,000 sq ft (280 m2) demonstration house was intended to be a global showcase for innovations in design and construction, building intelligence, and environmental performance, as well as to raise general awareness about environmental design and sustainable construction.[3][7][8]
Built as a demonstration project without a budget, the INTEGER Millennium House benefited from expertise and materials that were donated by suppliers without any cost to the project.[1] The entire house was constructed with standard components, many of which were prefabricated, including concrete for the floor slabs and timber for the superstructure, cladding, and frame.[1][8] Neither prototypes nor experimental components were used in the building of the house.[2]
Features
[edit]As originally built, the INTEGER Millennium House included numerous examples of environmental technology, including a green roof, wind turbine, solar photovoltaic panels, and solar water heaters capable of heating water up to 95 °C (203 °F). The house also featured a geothermal heat pump, rainwater collection and retention for both washing cars and watering gardens, and a grey water recycling system that reuses waste water from bathing and washing for toilet flushing, reducing water usage by roughly 30%.[1][2] Additionally, the south side of the house was built as a three-story glass conservatory designed to provide passive heat gain, although in direct sunlight it could overheat.[7][9] Altogether, the house achieved "Level 4 +" environmental performance according to the Code for Sustainable Homes.[4]
The INTEGER Millennium House was also built with a variety of intelligent home automation technologies, including a building management system that could optimize the performance of the heating system, an automatic garden irrigation system that could sense soil humidity conditions and water accordingly, an intelligent security system, lighting that could be set to one of four predefined moods, and microchip-embedded programmable door keys. The house also featured advanced communication technologies such as a telephone service distributed via a local building exchange, digital satellite and terrestrial television available in every room, WebTV, and a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system.[10]
Furthermore, the INTEGER Millennium House included numerous innovative technical systems, including under-floor trench heating controlled individually in each room by thermostat, a central service core containing all of the house's cables and pipes in a vertical space designed to provide easy access for maintenance and upgrade, and timber-framed bathroom modules similar to those built for use in the off-shore oil drilling industry.[1]
Refurbishment
[edit]In 2013, the BRE and British Gas collaborated to refurbish and retrofit the INTEGER Millennium House, which they renamed The Smart Home. As with the original build, there were neither budgets nor contracts for the refurbishment of The Smart Home, and many suppliers donated products and expertise to the effort.[7]
Chief among the upgrades are a "whole house living system" that uses occupation sensors to control heating, lighting, security, ventilation, and water, a new solar thermal system along with an upgraded solar water heating system, and a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) array within the glazing of the conservatory glass itself that generates electricity in addition to providing shade.[7][11] Built by Polysolar and rated at 3.3 kW (4.4 hp), the BIPV array provides The Smart Home with approximately 3,500 kWh (4,700 hp⋅h) of electricity annually, accounting for all of the house's daytime electric needs and approximately a third of its total energy requirements while also saving 1.8 long tons (1.8 t) of carbon dioxide.[7][9] Furthermore, the thin film material used in the BIPV array allows it to absorb ambient and reflective light on both sides of the glass, which allows it to operate in most weather conditions. Additionally, it allows the red light that is vital for photosynthesis to pass through, making the glass conservatory highly suitable for growing plants.[7] Hamish Watson, the CEO of Polysolar, described the use of such BIPV arrays as "an effective way of including energy micro-generation into the fabric of a building".[12]
Other upgrades made during the retrofit include the application of heat-reflective paint, insulating plaster, and phase changing material to improve the house's thermal performance, the use of light-reflective particles in interior paint to reduce lighting needs, and various other green and energy-efficient features, such as double-glazed doors and windows, ducted skirting, and reclaimed timber floors.[11] In all, the upgrades made to the house halved its carbon emissions and increased its energy efficiency by 50%, while also upgrading the building's Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating from E to A/B.[11][13]
The Smart Home was officially opened to the public on 2 October 2013 by Dorothy Thornhill, the Mayor of Watford, and Kerry Pollard, a former member of parliament from St Albans who had supported the original INTEGER project in 1998.[13]
Awards and impact
[edit]In its original iteration, the INTEGER Millennium House garnered numerous awards, including the European Intelligent Building of the Year (1998), the National Homebuilders Award for Ecology (1999), the Homes Award for Innovation (2000), and the National Homebuilders Award for House of the Future (2003).[4] Furthermore, the house was featured on two BBC Television programmes, both Tomorrow's World and a six-part special series entitled DreamHouse.[1][2] Between its opening as the INTEGER Millennium House in 1998 and its refurbishment as The Smart Home in 2013, the house was visited by more than 5,000 people.[9]
Additionally, many of the building's innovative features and technologies have been integrated into mainstream construction.[9] For instance, by April 2001, 12 two-bedroom flats with INTEGER-inspired features had been built in Harlow, Essex. Core INTEGER-style technologies that were used in the flats included enhanced insulation and a high-efficiency communal boiler system that reduced energy demand by 50%, as well as reduced servicing by replacing 12 small boilers with two large ones, and a grey water recycling system that reduced water consumption by 30%.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The INTEGER Millennium House, Watford, UK" (PDF). Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme. International Energy Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "BBC Dream House". BDP. Bree Day Partnership. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b "INTEGER Millennium House". Greenroofs.com. Greenroofs.com, LLC. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d "2000: Watford, INTEGER Millennium House". Cole Thompson Anders Housing Projects. Cole Thompson Anders. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ Morris, Ann (25 August 2001). "Going green: high-minded chatter or practical plan?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ Tambini, Michael (2004). DK Eyewitness Books: Future. Penguin Books. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0756682398.
- ^ a b c d e f g Welch, AJ (16 November 2013). "The Smart Home at BRE Watford". e-architect. World Architecture. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Exemplar Sustainable Housing". Building Futures. Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d "BRE show home refurbishment uses revolutionary Polysolar transparent solar PV glazing". Cambridge Network. Cambridge Network Limited. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ Hyde, Richard, ed. (2012). Bioclimatic Housing: Innovative Designs for Warm Climates. Routledge. pp. 38–39. ISBN 1136571140.
- ^ a b c Smit, Jo (2 October 2013). "Refurb demo house launches in Watford". Building4change. BRE Trust. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ "'Home of the future' showcases Polysolar's innovative building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) glass roof". The Southern Home Show. Carnah Events Ltd. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Reinventing the house of the future". BRE Group. Building Research Establishment. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Innovation case history: Primrose Field, Harlow" (PDF). The Housing Forum. The Housing Forum. April 2001. Retrieved 10 January 2015.[permanent dead link]