One of the newest builds on the BRE’s Innovation Park in Watford, the Zero Bills Home, was launched earlier this year. It is the brainchild of zero carbon pioneer Bill Dunster, the founder of ZedFactory and creator of one of the first low carbon developments in the UK, the BedZED project.
Zero Bills is a timber and steel hybrid construction, it comes as a kit of parts with its component parts laser pre-cut. It is a highly insulated home (using natural cork) and has built in thermal mass to mitigate overheating. One of its unique features is its solar loft.
Related to this project is the ZedPod (also by ZedFactory) which will arrive shortly on the Innovation Park. ZedPod is a very low-cost, low-carbon and highly efficient starter home, potentially a great solution for our housing provision crisis. The pods are designed to sit above a car park space and be covered by a roof canopy of PVs which would act as a solar farm.