Ilke Homes to build zero energy bills homes with Octopus Energy

Modular housebuilder Ilke Homes has teamed up with utilities firm Octopus Energy to deliver homes with zero energy bills.

In what the companies say is a first for the UK, they will create homes fitted with low-carbon technologies, including air source heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage. The properties are expected to save a household more than £2,000 a year on energy costs.

The house building partnership will start with two factory-built semi-detached homes on a site in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, that will be available for shared ownership. Ilke is already delivering a zero-carbon housing development on the site. Octopus Energy will provide a bespoke tariff for the homes.

Ilke plans to deliver 10,000 zero energy bills properties by 2030. The Essex homes are being delivered in partnership with Gresham House and SO Resi, and are part of a 153-home scheme, with 101 of the units being zero-carbon.

Giles Carter, chief executive of Ilke Homes, said: “The premise of this partnership is to both empower consumers, who are faced with one of the worst cost-of-living crises in decades, and demonstrate that net-zero and construction can work hand in hand.”

And Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: “This breakthrough partnership debunks a long-standing myth – that cleaner energy will mean higher bills for consumers. Instead, people living in these homes won’t be paying for energy at all.”

The initial shared ownership zero energy bills properties, which will have two bedrooms, have been built at Ilke’s factory in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.