BedZED: A step forward in sustainable living
Located unsuspectedly just outside of central London, nestled in between houses, parks and play-grounds, there lies BedZed; a small community, housing over one hundred inhabitants, all joined together by their desire to live a more sustainable life. Built in 2002 by BioRegional and funded by the Peabody trust, the development is the UK’s first large scale sustainable community and features one hundred homes all constructed to ensure maximum sustainability. Casting a well-informed eye over the development Nicholas Schoon, writer and researcher for BioRegional, outlines the concept of such a pioneering development: “The aim was to make a big leap forward in terms of sustainable living so that, when new housing developments are built, those building them can look at what we’ve done and try and incorporate more sustainable aspects into their homes.”
Roaming the grounds of the development, it’s eco-friendly nature is blatant; studio apartments and two and three-bed maisonettes are almost concealed by a flourishing vail of greenery. The ‘Green Roofs’ are sprouting a multitude of flowers, growing lavishly around the brightly coloured ‘Wind Cows’ which act as ventilation for the homes. The majority of the extensively solar panelled homes are south-facing to ensure they absorb maximum sunlight and each home features a small greenhouse like compartment at the front, known as a ‘Sun Space.’
“The sun-spaces are like mini greenhouses at the front of each house. In the winter when it’s cold, you open the door leading into the house so that the warm air from inside the sun-space can be used to bring warmth into your home, reducing the need for central heating.” Nicholas explains, “In the summer, people leave the front door leading outside open so that the sun-space doesn’t get too warm.”
But does this aspect actually work? Andrew Sargent has been a BedZed resident for seven years. “The heating bills are significantly smaller than in any other house,” he clarifies, “We don’t have central heating which means we don’t have a gas bill to pay either. You definitely save money on bills living here.” The eco-friendly husband and father moved to the development in order to be closer to his sister, also a resident. “It’s also a great place for children too, there are lots of green spaces and pedestrianized roads so they can play safely,” he nods.
In terms of a ‘community aspect’ Karen Bruce, receptionist for BioRegional, highlights the perks of living in such a small, eco-spirited community: “There’s a community email address here so if you want to borrow something, for example a lawnmower, you can ask your fellow BedZed inhabitants using the online forum.” Karen is all smiles as she gushes about the housing projects ability to bring people closer together. “Normally, living on a typical street in London, you might know the name of your next door neighbours and that’s pretty much it. There was a survey conducted here a while ago which found out that residents here know the full names of at least ten, if not more, of their neighbours. There’s a real feeling of unity here.”
Community spirit aside, does the development actually do what it says on the tin? Nicholas admits that, like with all innovative projects, certain things are bound to go wrong. “It was a very ambitious project at the time and yes, certain things haven’t worked as well as we’d hoped,” he sighs, casting a knowing eye over the BedZed power station. “Initially our power plant was burning wood in order to generate electricity. This is a zero-carbon form of energy, as long as all the wood you burn is being replaced by plants you grow. When you burn wood, just like any fossil fuel, carbon dioxide is made but so long as you are growing new trees to replace this then, theoretically, you are in balance.” Begrudgingly, Nicholas is forced to reveal: “Unfortunately, after a few years, the power station broke down and we had to use gas-fire burners for a while. When projects start out with such good intentions, there are always going to be teething-problems. We are back to burning wood now and we even produce electricity at a surplus! Any extra electricity we produce we just export into the grid for anyone to use.”
The use of sustainable electricity is another project that has been initiated by Bioregional, through their ‘Smart Local Grids’ scheme. Julia Hawkins, head of communications and policy at the company, explains the notion behind the idea: “Here at Bioregional we are working with partners in order to make green solar electricity connect easily and affordably into local electricity grids.” Prior to her current employment, Julia worked at the sustainable energy charity Ashden and ran their PR and digital media activities, proving she is committed to the cause of sustainable living. “If local grids are exporting green solar energy, then that’s a huge step in the right direction for sustainability. It could eventually mean that the majority of houses holds are powered by solar electricity!”
Despite the aforementioned ‘teething problems,’ the inhabitant’s of BedZed appear to be largely fulfilling their targets, as the development uses around 50% less water than regular London homes. This is something that Nicholas attributes to their use of ‘Green Roofs,’ a concept installed to prevent water wastage in the development. Mark Benetton, a roofer for ‘Landmark Living Roofs,’ explains the relatively simple concept: “Green Roofs generally consist of multiple layers, the last being a vegetation layer, like shrubs or plants. When it rains, the majority of the water is held in the other layers and gradually through diffusion the plants draw the water through the roots. This means the rain water isn’t wasted and the plants that grow on the roofs are producing oxygen and in taking carbon dioxide, which is obviously beneficial to the environment.”
Dwelling on both the successes and failures of the development, over a cup of tea with one sugar and a biscuit to dunk in, Nicholas expresses his concern at the rate at which progress for sustainable buildings is going. Drowning a custard cream, almost to the point where it’s going to end up as a soggy mush in the bottom of his cup, he says: “It’s almost an ‘It’s not easy being green’ story. I think the government got cold feet in terms of environmental progression a few years ago. It’s still the norm to build a new house with a gas fired central heating system,” he pauses to drown a second and then a third biscuit, “That’s ridiculous, gas is a fossil fuel! The house will be around for what, 50 or 100 years? Your building something with a fossil fuel burning energy system in its heart which could be around for over 100 years? Carbon emissions from buildings account for around one third of our planet’s total carbon emissions! People aren’t taking this into account quickly enough.”
Nicholas, having finished his tea and polished off the custard creams, gives me one last parting thought before seeing me out; “Everyone needs to look at what we’ve achieved here at BedZed and, although it hasn’t all gone to plan, it’s proof that sustainable living can be possible.”