White Design has helped design and build "Balehaus@Bath", a two-storey, straw-bale house as part of a research project on the University of Bath campus. We are part of the team contributing to an innovative research programme at the university's  BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials.  BaleHaus™  is an entirely renewable way to construct homes, using ModCell^TM prefabricated straw bale cladding panels.

The research team will be assessing straw bales and hemp as building materials to establish how they could be used more widely for housing, helping the UK achieve its targets for reducing carbon emissions. Due to the high insulating properties of straw, houses made of straw bales need almost no conventional heating, keeping running costs low and minimising environmental impact.

For more details, see story in news section or visit:
www.bath.ac.uk/features/balehaus
www.modcell.co.uk/page/balehaus

The BaleHaus approach: a lifetime of low carbon

Living more sustainably requires us to develop ways to

• live within our environmental means - especially in relation to our carbon footprint
• maintain a healthy and comfortable quality of life
• build strong communities.

BaleHaus addresses these three challenges in a number of ways and offers a straightforward and practical way to reduce our footprint on the earth, without the need for an “eco-guilt trip”.
The BaleHaus uses ModCell Straw cladding panels, to provide a super-insulated home, made from locally available materials that are designed to be dismantled, re-used and recycled at the end of a typical 75+ year life. This super insulating system meets the PassivHaus specification for zero heat homes.

A conventional house designed to today's Building Regulations will emit around 3.1 tonnes of CO₂ per year. The BaleHaus, however, reduces its heating demand by 80%. It does this through the super-insulation provided by ModCell, high performance triple glazing combined with airtight construction, passive design techniques and heat recovery ventilation in winter.

The BaleHaus approach to housing includes a biomass boiler which, combined with a solar domestic hot water system to each house, supplies the remaining heat requirement for water heating. Energy efficient electrical fittings and appliances in combination with passive design and good daylight levels reduce the electrical demand by 19%. These measures mean the Balehaus's carbon emissions are reduced to 1.6 tonnes per year, a saving of almost 50%.