A new copper-clad, energy-generating home on the outskirts of Oxford in Britain is being hailed as both a triumph of style and sustainability.
The house—by UK architect Adrian James who’s called it “Copper Bottom”—is green in the most literal sense. The outside of the house is almost all clad in copper, as if the roof had descended to the ground and engulfed the walls, leading the Guardian Newspaper to call it “a green marvel in every sense”.
But looks apart the building is Net Zero to the max. With 37 solar panels, an air-source heat pump, timber structure, triple-glazing and generous insulation, the house generates more energy than it consumes. More than that, it will pay back the carbon debt incurred by its construction after 10 to 15 years, and from then on it will continue to generate surplus power that can be returned to the national grid.
Of course the home’s solar panels, heat pumps, energy storage, electric car charging points and extra wiring all need copper to work, but the walls are just as sustainable. Not only has the copper all been recycled from scrap, which means it will never corrode (or barely) and is totally recyclable.
The underlying shape also helps. A simple cuboid, it’s efficient both in terms of construction and conserving energy. The projections and recessions of the copper wrapping serve to shade the interior from the high summer sun (and so help to stop it overheating), while allowing warming rays to enter at a lower angle in winter.
In other words, the world’s climate will be (very fractionally) better off than it would be if the house had not been built at all. The longer it stands, the better.