The health and cost benefits of environmentally friendly homes are to be studied.
Families moving into 20 houses being built by Moat Housing Association in Ashford will be asked to monitor their health six months before and after moving in.

The utility bills levied in the old accommodation will be compared with the new build's energy usage.

Patricia Meakin, Ashford council's research and development manager in housing, said: "We want to see what the effects of these houses are on real people. We are very keen to see more of these sort of schemes developed. Asthma and breathing difficulties are becoming much more common among children. If you've got a product that really helps, you try to use it more often."

We want to see the effects of these homes on real people

Patricia Meakin, Ashford council

The 14 houses and six flats, due for completion in May, were manufactured off-site in Sweden using Scandinavian softwood.

They include photovoltaic cells in the roofs, showers instead of baths, air filtration to reduce allergens and larger windows to increase natural light. They are expected to cost £2 a week to heat and light.

Source

Housing Today