Kit Houses Kit Home Brands

Date Published:

26/01/2009

Are Kit Houses Eco-Friendly?

Increasingly, in these climate conscious times, kit homes are seen as being a more sustainable and eco friendly alternative to conventional housing.

Providing the timber is from FSC sources, the major construction material is carbon neutral, unlike brick and cement, which have high levels of embodied carbon dioxide. Further, the offsite prefabrication techniques limit onsite waste – which has a carbon cost to be removed.

Kit homes are generally also eco homes

A spokesperson for eco homes portal www.whatgreenhome.com says, 'Kit homes are among the most sustainable and energy efficient homes being built today. The majority of them use low carbon manufacturing and construction techniques, and significantly they are usually very well insulated, which means they are more pleasant to live in – in both summer and winter – as well as cheaper to heat and run.'

For example, in the UK self-build specialist Potton Kingspan, in conjunction with architect Sheppard Robson, has created a flagship prototype, the lighthouse, which reaches level 6 (the highest achievable) of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Potton estimates the energy cost of running the house would be £31 per annum compared to £500 for a house of a similar size and shape built to 2006 building regulations.

How Much Do Kit Homes Cost?

A Huf Haus costs £1,200 to £1,500 per metre sq, which is around £150,000 for a standard 120m sq three bedroom house. Potton’s lighthouse prototype costs from around £185,000 (£1,990 per metre sq) depending on the exact specifications included (excluding land), for a 92.9m sq two-bedroom unit.

Cloud Nine’s homes start from £88,000 ex-VAT with an individual house build premium of seven to 11 per cent.