Eco-buildings

Eco-buildings

BowZed, Bow, east London

East London is perhaps not where youd expect to
find one of the countrys most sustainable buildings,
but the BowZed block of four, zero fossil-energy flats
is so well insulated that there are no central heating
systems in the flats. The residents get 40 per cent
of their electricity from solar panels and 50 per cent
from a micro wind turbine on the stair tower. Hot
water comes from a boiler powered by wood pellets
and the residents say three tonnes is enough to fuel
the four flats for a year.

The show apartment cost 15 per cent more to buy

than an average property of the same size, and was
bought for 275,000. As a result, environmentalists
claim that there is a good market for eco-housing.

Honingham earth-sheltered social housing

scheme, Honingham, Norfolk
Gary and Keron Lawson live in one of
four two-bedroom bungalows with
running costs of just 3.80 per week.
Theres no conventional heating or
cooling system and the development
has zero carbon emissions. The houses
are earth-sheltered, meaning the north,
west and east walls are covered by an
earth mound. Only the south face of
the house is left open to capture heat
and light from the sun.

Kingsmead Primary School,

Northwich, Cheshire

Light comes through the full-length

windows and it stays at 22 C
throughout the winter, Gary says. We
hadnt heard of anything like this at all
before we moved in.
Peddars Way housing association,
who commissioned and manage the
scheme, plan more earth-sheltered
homes and an earth-sheltered
business campus.

Kingsmead Primary School in Cheshire is designed

to help pupils learn more about the environment.
The active voltage displays show how much energy
the solar panels produce. An electronic meter
shows how much rainwater is collected by the
inverted roof.
To stop the little ones nodding off during a long
lesson, a system (run on renewable energy)
automatically opens and shuts the windows,
skylights and blinds. This allows fresh air to
flow through the building. It also shades pupils
where necessary.

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Eco-buildings
Write down what each of these words means.

A
1

Fossil energy

Environmentalists

Conventional

Commissioned

Inverted

Renewable

Which building(s) have the following features?

1 Solar panels
2 Stays at 22 C in winter
3 A wind turbine
4 Windows that open automatically
5 Covered by an earth mound
6 A roof designed to collect rain

Choose the correct answer to each of these questions.

1 How much of their electricity do BowZed residents get from solar panels?
a)

30 per cent

b) 40 per cent
c)

50 per cent

d) 60 per cent

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Eco-buildings
2 According to the text, Honingham running costs are:
a)

2.80 per week

b) 3.18 per week

c)

3.80 per week

d) 38.00 per week

Describe two ways in which the design of Kingsmead Primary School helps pupils.

Fill in the gaps in this paragraph using the following words:

money

wasted

business

heat

construction

transport

reduces

means building in ways that benefit or do not

Eco-friendly

harm the environment. Good planning means fewer things are

Using local materials reduces how much energy you need to

.
them

and benefits local businesses. Less energy goes into the manufacture and production of
green products and this

carbon emissions. Eco-friendly design

also reduces how much energy is needed to

these things also make good
waste saves

the building. Many of

sense. For example, cutting back on

With a partner, discuss eco-buildings.

Have you heard of eco-buildings before?

Do you know of any ways to make a building more eco-friendly?

What more could be done to make buildings eco-friendly?

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Eco-buildings

How well did you listen to each other while discussing eco-buildings?

Give yourselves a score for each statement:

z

Score 3 if this was true most of the time.

Score 2 if this was sometimes true.

Score 1 if this did not happen very often.

Statement

We took turns to speak.

We listened carefully when the other person spoke.

We looked at each other often while we were talking.

We avoided interrupting each other.

We showed when we agreed (e.g. by nodding, saying yes).

We asked questions to check we had understood.

Score (31)

H Note down two things you could do another time to make sure you listen to each
other carefully.

Think about two different ways to make buildings more eco-friendly. Write a
paragraph about each.

Example 1:

Example 2:

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