Social housing development achieve superior air permeability ratings
(25/02/2009)

A social housing development at Hemsworth, near Wakefield, has been awarded the best air tightness rating of hundreds of schemes by leading industry experts. The new properties, built in partnership with Wakefield and District Housing and Synergy Housing Solutions, have air permeability ratings that are more than twice as good as the average British home.

Rigorous tests carried out by Ryedale Air Tightness Testing (RATT) found the homes had a permeability rating of 3m³/(h.m²) at 50 Pascals, which is well within the Government limits. This was the best score RATT had reported in around 500 tests carried out in 2008 and puts the homes on an equal footing with some of the most advanced sustainable housing projects in the country. Importantly, this impressive result means that social housing tenants can expect to save up to 20 per cent on their annual fuel bills due to the low levels of air leakage and heat loss.

Nick Simpson, Director at RATT, said: “People might be forgiven for not associating these very high building standards with social housing. But our tests have found these buildings are comparable to some of the country’s flagship sustainable construction projects. This result is purely down to a thorough approach to construction and goes to show that you do not need sophisticated technology to achieve this level of benefit.”

This rating follows Bramall being the first company in the country to develop social housing that meets Level 4 of the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes.

Neil Baxter, Managing Director for Bramall, said: “We’re pleased the test results for these properties have been so positive, not least because they mean more energy efficient homes that will ultimately save tenants money on their fuel bills. In these difficult economic times, qualities like this are more important than ever.”

The homes were completed in January 2008, with six made available on a shared ownership basis and the rest offered to rent from WDH.