By Lidija Grozdanic, Source: Inhabitat

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Danish window and skylight manufacturer VELUX commissioned architecture firm HTA to develop a series of experimental low-carbon homes in the UK to gather data on how typical families react to highly sustainable designs. The Velux Model Home 2020 is super insulated, minimizes thermal bridging and has a high degree of air tightness that enables it to significantly reduce heating costs. The house uses renewable energy technologies to meet virtually all of its energy requirements.
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CarbonLight Homes go far beyond providing an optimal amount of daylight and air quality – the houses are built to change the behavioral patterns of their residents. Velux found that families living in the homes adjust their lifestyles to achieve higher degrees of health and sustainability. The designs include three- and four-bedroom homes with an integrated garage.
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The point of departure for the project was the idea of maximizing daylight. Using computer models, the designers were able to create projects that have a minimum daylight factor of 5% percent for every room in the home – more than three times greater than required by the Code for Sustainable Homes.
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The homes are built as part of a typical suburban masterplan for over 200 homes on the Charter Park development by Bovis, which is located in Rothwell near Kettering, UK. The designers topped the homes with sloping roofs to allow the greatest amount of daylight into the dwellings, and each project collects renewable energy via roof and facade-mounted solar panels.