‘Zero Bills’ home in Ross on Wye

Edenstone has partnered with the UK’s largest electricity supplier, Octopus Energy, to deliver homes that will enable people to live energy bill-free for a minimum of five years, guaranteed. The initial agreement covers 12 homes across three locations, with potential further roll out across future developments.

‘Zero Bills’ is a world-first smart tariff that allows customers to move into homes that are fully kitted out with green technology and with no energy bills, guaranteed. The first home under the deal has been built at St Mary’s Garden Village in Ross-on-Wye and has already been sold, soon after its release, to a purchaser keen to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Each of the ‘Zero Bills’ homes is to be installed with clean energy devices, including solar photovoltaic (PV), air-source heat pumps, and a home battery. ‘Zero Bills’ is made possible through Octopus’ technology platform, Kraken, which connects to the clean energy devices installed in the home and manages their energy usage to deliver a zero bill.

Edenstone Group chief executive Martin Taylor said: “We’re committed to raising sustainability standards by embracing the challenge of constructing net-zero homes. Our partnership with Octopus Energy – the first, we hope, of many – allows us to provide homes with an extraordinary proposition: at least five years of zero bills, guaranteed. We believe it’ll be a game changer for our customers and will redefine the way homes are designed, built, and experienced, setting a new benchmark for energy-efficient living.

 

“Our Ross-on-Wye ‘Zero Bills’ home showcases the tangible steps we’re taking towards achieving a net-zero energy future.”

A further seven ‘Zero Bills’ homes will feature at Edenstone’s forthcoming Eden’s Green development in Bleadon, North Somerset, with four more being built for United Welsh Housing in Cardiff as part of the company’s ambitions to bring zero net energy to all its developments by 2025.

Michael Cottrell, Zero Bills director at Octopus Energy, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Edenstone to set the new standard for UK homeownership. With ‘Zero Bills’, buyers of these properties can enjoy not only energy bill free homes, but a genuine shift towards greener living. And with Edenstone, we’re only just getting started.”

Octopus aims to deliver 50,000 ‘Zero Bills’ homes globally by 2025.

Edenstone has previously built a series of pilot net zero homes across developments in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, and across Wales in Aberthin, Morriston and Newport using various technologies and systems.

The company recently opened a net-zero community hub at St Mary’s Garden Village, designed to generate more renewable energy than it consumes, helping to decarbonise the Ross on Wye community.

The new ‘Zero Bills’ home at St Mary’s Garden Village is a three-bedroom detached Broughton. It features photovoltaic (PV) panels with internal battery storage, air source heat pumps with smart hot water cylinders . A fair usage allowance is set at double the expected electricity usage, excluding electric vehicle charging which is subject to a separate tariff.

“Technology has moved on considerably since we built our first zero carbon home. Back then our efforts were focused on the raw generation of energy through roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and a home battery system to store the electricity generated, plus an air source heat pump to provide heating and hot water, with little smart technology,” Martin added.

“Trialling different approaches, we’ve been able to assess the practicalities from a construction perspective and consumer experience. Now we’re able to use smart technology to help reduce energy demands. The system learns habits and can provide gains that design alone can’t deliver.”