It was only two weeks ago that Patey Court opened its doors to new residents. Now, it leads the way in helping the council achieve its plans to become a more energy efficient city. Focusing on sustainability from the start, the assisted-living flats are the latest addition to the council’s housing portfolio. Hard-work has paid off though with the property achieving great results during its Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessment late last week.
An EPC is a mandatory document showing how energy efficient a property is. Specifically, it can indicate a property’s energy costs and carbon emissions output. They are scored from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient buildings with the lowest running costs.
A-Rating for Patey Court
The assessment awarded Paulsgrove’s new homes a rating of A9, exceeding building regulation standards. This now also gives Patey Court the title of being the council’s most energy efficient building – a great success for all involved. It’s also welcomed news to the Switched on Portsmouth team who are working to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in the city.
The council are especially pleased with the outcome given that fewer than 40,000 homes in England have an EPC rating of A. This is in part due to the old age of many buildings but does highlight the need for more sustainable housing in the UK.
So what’s different about Patey Court? Designed by the council’s in-house team of architects, landscape architects and building services engineers, a combination of energy-saving measures were used to achieve the high EPC rating. Specifically, the team installed:
- quality, carbon conscious building fabric
- high performance triple glazed windows in all flats
- efficient lighting and lighting controls
- a communal ground source heat pump which means there is no need for gas on site
- 68kWp of solar PV (solar electricity panels)
- Tesla battery storage
The next step in the net zero carbon journey
Importantly, the property runs entirely on electricity. This means that when the national grid decarbonises in 2035, Patey Court will be net zero carbon. The Paulgrove development has proven to be an important step in the journey to show that net zero carbon buildings can be built now and in the future.
Cllr Darren Sanders, Cabinet Member for Housing and Preventing Homelessness, said:
“We started Patey Court with sustainability in mind and I’m so pleased it’s now officially our most energy efficient property. This high EPC rating will set an important standard going forward in what we should achieve with our future property investments, particularly in light of rising energy costs across the UK.”
Read about Patey Court’s opening day here
Watch a video of the completed property here