Whilst living in a residential property which all but pays for itself sounds fictitious, it is an everyday reality for the owners of the Eco Home in Hertfordshire. This spacious, forward-thinking house showcases a selection of innovative features. Polyflor’s Colonia Wood PUR became an integral contributor to the home achieving energy efficiency and sustainability requirements.
Amidst soaring energy prices, the concept of a house which fuels itself for free despite having no gas supply seems inconceivable. However, for homeowners David and Gill Jay, this unlikely notion became an everyday reality at their forward-thinking, Nordic minimalism-designed Eco Home in Hertfordshire with help from Polyflor.
Through careful design and innovative technology, their new property achieved an impressive Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating of 97 out of 100, with a maximum score representing zero energy cost. This high rating means that the running cost of the Eco House is less than its current annual energy rebate.
The Eco House sits upon the site of a former 1960s bungalow. To guide its transformation, David Jay turned to Richard Mitzman, his childhood friend and now RIBA award-winning architect. From within the footprint of this previous building, Mitzman created a striking angular design, complete with a mezzanine floor and balcony, offering views of the nearby golf course.
The open-plan layout benefits from natural light shining throughout its spacious living area and stylish kitchen diner. These areas feature a monochrome palette of whites, blacks, and greys, enhancing additional natural materials.
To complement such aesthetics, Mitzman specified Polyflor’s Colonia Wood PUR range of Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) for the floors within this main living area, opting for its attractive Nordic White Oak shade. The oak effect tiles perfectly met the design brief to create clean internal spaces when laid in a traditional straight-laid pattern, bringing Nordic charm to the Jays’ home whilst being soft and warm underfoot.
The homeowners were also impressed that its textured surface captured the look and feel of wooden flooring but offered easier maintenance. Furthermore, its durable wear layer also offered long-term protection, backed with a comprehensive 7-year residential guarantee.
In addition to being energy efficient, Colonia Wood PUR met the Jays’ desire for the Eco House to use sustainable materials inside and out, offering five key features:
• It incorporates responsibly sourced materials
• It contains up to 40% recycled content
• It is 100% recyclable whilst benefitting from Polyflor’s Recofloor scheme for waste material
• It achieved a BRE Global A rating
• It meets demanding indoor air quality standards, creating a healthier, more comfortable environment
Underfoot Flooring Ltd, Hertfordshire, were the expert fitter on site. They were impressed that the tiles cut with ease, which enabled them to accurately accommodate unusual features within the Eco Home, including the track required for the sliding separators around the kitchen area.
"Our specialist installers are trained to manage the more intricate areas which cropped up during the installation. They found that Polyflor’s Colonia Wood PUR tiles were straightforward to install and cut into specific shapes."
- John Gold, Director of Underfoot Flooring Ltd
