Z E M C H 2 0 1 2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
8
Rainwater collection will be standard for the houses using butts and a full regime of
water (and waste) testing programmes will be ranged throughout the village over time.
These include studies of: Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems; Roof top rainwater
collection; Climate change - rainfall mapping, modelling and management; Rainwater
storage, management and uses; Internal water and energy efficiency systems and
strategies; Grey water reuse - energy and water; Water management; Pollution;
Drainage; Nutrient management; Energy recovery; Septic tanks; Sustainable Filtration
systems. Many of these issues come with significant energy implications as the water
industry is the biggest single user of electricity in Scotland.
Figure 5. Ground and first floor plans of the three bedroom hub homes.
Sensors and Controls Methodology
The ten living laboratory homes and four of the housing hub homes, one of each house
type, will be monitored more closely with hardwired sensors measuring temperature,
humidity and CO
2
in every room along with VOC’s, CO, formaldehydes, vapour pressure
and NO
2
to more precisely monitor indoor air quality. Sensors will be placed on all
windows, external and internal doors to correlate indoor air quality with the occupants’
use of natural ventilation. Lighting levels will also be measured in each room. U-values
of each living laboratory home type will be measured on walls facing in all directions
initially and over time to establish any changes in U-value as building materials age and
degrade. The living laboratory homes’ energy usage will be measured using smart
meters plus additional sensors to record directly gas and hot water usage.
On-site weather stations will record temperature, rain fall, wind speed and direction and
solar radiation and indoor climates studies during normal and extreme weather events.
