Solatube® Daylighting System selected
for Bath University eco house project

Researchers at the University of Bath’s BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials are researching low carbon alternatives to building materials currently used by the construction industry.

Researchers at the Centre are developing new ways of using timber and other crop-based materials such as hemp, natural fibre composites and straw bales. Straw is the ultimate environmentally-friendly building material since it is renewable and is a by-product of farming.

The crop used for the straw can be grown locally, and because it absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows, buildings made from it can be seen as having zero, or even a negative carbon footprint. Also, due to its high insulating properties, houses made of straw bales need almost no conventional heating, keeping running costs low and minimising environmental impact.

The research team will be assessing straw bales and hemp as building materials so that they can be used more widely in the building industry for housing, helping the UK achieve its targets for reducing carbon emissions.

Professor Peter Walker, Director of the Centre, is leading the research.

He said: “The environmental impact of the construction industry is huge. For example, it is estimated that worldwide the manufacture of cement contributes up to ten per cent of all industrial carbon dioxide emissions."

The two storey BaleHaus being built on campus will be made using ‘ModCell’ - pre-fabricated panels consisting of a wooden structural frame in-filled with straw bales or hemp and rendered with a breathable lime-based system. ModCell is the creation of White Design in Bristol and Integral Structural Design in Bath.

Whilst the Bath BaleHaus is only a test site it also needs to demonstrate its potential and practicality as a model for future homes, schools and office buildings. The Solatube® Daylighting System installed is the ideal solution for lighting areas that cannot be served by the build’s windows. The hi-tech skylight allows for the maximum light to be captured and delivered to the space below through minimum apertures, thus retaining the super efficient energy performance of the building.

The BaleHaus at Bath is due to be opened later this month by Grand Design’s Kevin McCloud and will be monitored for a year for its insulating properties, humidity levels, air tightness and sound insulation qualities.

'Solatube® has provided us with very cost effective solution for bringing natural daylight into the BaleHaus at Bath reducing our CO2 emissions simply and elegantly.' 

Craig White - Director, ModCell & BaleHaus

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Last updated: 14th June 2010