Scotland’s first affordable low-energy house has recently been opened at South Lanarkshire College in East Kilbride. The house’s sustainable roof uses over 1,000 roof tiles from Marley Eternit, which as well as being A+ rated also help to reduce pollution.
The Aurora house, which has an “A” rated energy performance certificate, was built as a result of a successful and unique partnership between South Lanarkshire College, Dawn Homes and more than 50 private sector partners. It is a flagship development that is being used as a training facility by students of the college who are aiming to work in the construction sector.
Designed by Glasgow-based architects Jewitt Arschavir & Wilkie Limited, the house uses both Rivendale fibre cement slates and the pollution-reducing EcoLogic Ludlow Major Tiles. Keith Adamson, senior technical associate at Jewitt Arschavir & Wilkie Limited, said: “This project was an ideal opportunity for South Lanarkshire College and Dawn Homes to produce a market-leading prototype on the college site that could demonstrate to students how Code for Sustainable Homes level 5 can be achieved.
“In order to assess the benefits of different types of roof coverings, the college opted to use each tile on separate monopitch roofs of the house so that the performance of one can be compared to the other.”
The EcoLogic tile can absorb and neutralise harmful nitrous oxides (NOx) in the atmosphere and during its lifetime an average sized roof using EcoLogic tiles could remove the amount of NOx equivalent to that emitted by a modern car driving 100,000 miles. In addition the tile contains around 50% recycled content.
As Rivendale fibre cement slates are produced in the UK, they receive an A+ rating in the BRE Green Guide to Specification. The fibre cement roof was also fitted with photovoltaic panels to add to the building’s energy efficiency.
Charlotte Hughes, campaign manager at Marley Eternit, commented: “We’re really pleased to have been involved in such a pioneering development that helps to train the roofers, builders and specifiers of the future. This project clearly demonstrates the potential of the roof as a sustainable platform.
For more information on Marley Eternit’s roof tiles go to www.marleyeternit.co.uk.
