The council has created two unique ‘Sustainable Demonstrator Homes’ at the Dickson Drive development which showcase the latest design and technology.

These homes also set a benchmark for building sustainable properties at a local and national level, meeting the highest sustainability ratings.

This is all part of the council’s commitment to climate change and follows on from an earlier cabinet decision to declare a climate emergency.

The £3.7m Dickson Drive development - supported by a £1.4m Scottish Government grant – has delivered 24 two and three-bedroom homes and was completed earlier this year.

As well as providing general needs homes, wheelchair properties and amenity bungalows, the development includes two Sustainable Demonstrator properties.

These feature a number of sustainable features which will help to reduce carbon emissions and reduce the impact of climate change. These include:

• Solar PV panels and electric vehicle charging points
• Triple-glazed windows which reduce heat loss by up to 50 per cent in comparison to double glazing
• Paint made using natural products which are non-toxic and friendly to the environment
• A full house ventilation system which helps to improve the quality of air and offsets pollutants from day-to-day products used within the home
• A Smart Home LED lighting system allows full control of smart lightbulbs using a voice activated assistant or app, allowing the tenant to create different lighting levels which can reduce energy consumption
• A high-performance, water-efficient toilet which only uses 1.5l of water - significantly less than most efficient traditional toilets
• Smart window blinds which can be controlled with a finger swipe when using the smart home app or by voice command
• High-efficiency extractor fans which are specifically designed to optimise the homes internal environment, reducing energy consumption and running costs
• A Sunamp heating and hot water system which uses inorganic, non-toxic, non-flammable materials to store and release thermal energy on demand
• The shower cubical is fitted with a timer which allows the tenant to monitor how long they have been in the shower for, while the bath incudes a waste water heat recovery system which recovers heat from the waste water that passes through the plughole and preheats the water supply to the shower
• Water butts gather rainwater from the roof and the gutters which can then be used as an external water supply for activities such as washing the car or watering the garden, reducing the amount of fresh water which is used from the mains supply.

Many of the features – such as triple glazing, solar panels and smart lighting - help reduce running costs, meaning residents can make significant savings on their bills, while also having a positive effect on the environment by reducing carbon emissions. 

Councillor Jim Montgomerie, Green New Deal & Sustainability, said the properties showed how we can live cleaner and greener in the years to come. He added: “We want to lead by example and have already set ourselves an ambitious target of having net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

“These demonstrator homes show what is possible as we continue to develop and deliver our new council homes across North Ayrshire.

“We are building 1575 new homes and some of the features of these demonstrator houses in Dickson Drive are already starting to find their way into our new-build programme.”

North Ayrshire residents will be able to view inside the Sustainable Demonstrator virtually on the council’s social media channels in late summer 2020.