The project in Shettleston, Glasgow recently won a competition organised BY Scottish Homes on the theme of sustainable development. The aim is to provide housing which is not only cheap to heat, but incorporates ideas which reduce CO2 emissions, and uses materials with low embodied energy, all within a tight budget.

The project will incorporate a novel form of heating which uses warm water from disused coal mines under the site.

The venture will be a first for Scotland. The work involves drilling a hole 90 meters deep to tap into the flooded coal mine. A pump will raise the preheated water (which is at 12C) and pass it through a heat pump, which will raise the temperature further. A large thermal storage tank will store the heated water and allow it to be pumped to each of 16 houses. Solar collectors on the roof will raise the temperature further.

Walls are made using the breathing wall technique, with 170mm warmcell giving a U-value of 0.2 W/m2 C.

Passive stack ventilation is combined with some solar preheat ventilation.

The house achieves a SAP rating of 100 largely due to the use of geothermal heating. The annual heating costs for a typical flat have been calculated as being £30 a year, with hot water heating costing about £60 a year.