Beddington Corner: The BedZED estate

Image: © Nigel Cox Taken: 25 Apr 2007

BedZED stands for Beddington Zero Energy Development and is the UK's largest and first carbon-neutral eco-community. It was developed by the Peabody Trust and has won numerous awards. The buildings are constructed of materials that store heat during warm conditions and realease heat at cooler times, and where possible, they have been built from natural, recycled or reclaimed materials. The first residents moved in during March 2002, and these houses are on Helios Road. BedZED receives power from a small-scale combined heat and power plant (CHP). In conventional energy generation, the heat that is produced as a by-product of generating electricity is lost. With CHP technology, this heat can be harnessed and put to use. At BedZED, the heat from the CHP provides hot water, which is distributed around the site via a district heating system of super-insulated pipes. Should residents or workers require a heating boost, each home or office has a domestic hot water tank that doubles as a radiator. The CHP plant at BedZED is powered by off-cuts from tree surgery waste that would otherwise go to landfill. Wood is a carbon neutral fuel because the CO2 released when the wood is burned is equal to that absorbed by the tree as it grew. For more information the BedZED website is here http://www.peabody.org.uk/pages/GetPage.aspx?id=179

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