Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Granton homes,affordable housing, Scottish Net Zero houses, Station View property

Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Granton homes news

18 March 2025

Final phase of Edinburgh Home Demonstrator, ‘net-zero ready’ development, begins with rigorous testing.

17th March 2025 – The development of 75 affordable, ‘net-zero ready’ homes at Granton Station View, led by the City of Edinburgh Council, has reached its final phase now that rigorous testing is underway to validate performance standards.

Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Granton Approval

Across three pilot projects, including the Granton site, the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator (EHD) programme is set to deliver 324 homes designed to achieve a ‘net-zero ready’ standard. This is achieved by improved building fabric performance that exceeds the current Building Regulations coupled with a zero-emissions heating system. Granton Station View was built by construction and manufacturing group, CCG (Scotland).

The University of Edinburgh is now conducting detailed, in-situ performance tests to measure and monitor the performance standard before occupancy, with results expected in Spring 2025. The University is measuring the u-value and airtightness of the buildings as well as thermal imaging the homes, to name a few.

A 12-month monitoring period following occupancy will further assess the homes’ performance. During this time, occupants will also be asked to participate in surveys to understand behaviour that influences energy efficiency and to capture insights into the impact of and experiences with zero-direct-emissions heating systems. The University will also be capturing the electricity usage via the property distribution board, monitoring the efficiency of the communal heating system and internal air temperature analysis using surface-mounted sensors.

Now that the EHD programme is well underway with the delivery of its pilot projects, the six local authority partners of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City region Deal have committed to establish and manage the Regional Delivery Alliance (RDA) to apply the lessons learned from the EHD programme to refine and scale the performance standard. By consolidating outputs from the EHD programme, the RDA is applying a cohesive approach to procurement, housing typologies, and performance specifications across the six local authority areas.

The Regional Delivery Alliance has secured funding and endorsement from regional partners for an initial two-year term, running until March 2026. The RDA will play a vital role in supporting local authorities, registered social landlords, and the private sector in the South East of Scotland, ensuring the successful delivery of affordable, energy efficient housing.

City of Edinburgh Council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, Lezley Marion Cameron said:
“Thanks to the collaborative efforts with our partners at the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator programme, we’ve been able to deliver high-quality, energy efficient homes that will provide much needed housing for individuals and families. The testing being performed will verify that the homes achieve the high standard expected and I look forward to seeing the results.

“The homes at Granton Station View are designed with the latest technology to keep energy bills low, ensuring that families can live comfortably while benefitting from a sustainable, future-proofed living environment. Not only will they reduce carbon emissions, but they also provide another avenue for tackling the housing emergency.”

Dr Julio Bros-Williamson, Chancellor’s Fellow in Net Zero Buildings at the University of Edinburgh said:
“The evaluation of the homes is the culmination of a lot of hard work from the stakeholders of this pilot project, from the initial design and energy aspirations to the construction and delivery on site. The tests we are conducting will help to verify and provide in-depth knowledge of the initial performance of a sample of flats representative of the whole development. Projects like this provide a beacon of knowledge to transition to net zero homes of the present and future.”

CCG Managing Director, David Wylie, said:
“Granton Station View is a pioneering development that will help to shape the future of affordable, net zero housebuilding in the Edinburgh and South East City Region. As main contractor, CCG led its delivery through use of our advanced, offsite methods of construction – a key strand of the EHD initiative’s philosophy and an integral component to achieving the rigorous design standard and future operational net zero carbon capability.

“We look forward to receiving the results and once again give thanks to The City of Edinburgh Council, the design team and wider delivery partners for their support throughout the project’s journey.”

To keep up to date about the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator and Regional Delivery Alliance, follow the EHD LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edinburgh-home-demonstrator

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About the Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Programme

The Edinburgh Home Demonstrator (EHD) programme was established to explore and develop a new business model for the manufacture of affordable homes based on collaborative procurement, whole life costing, development pipeline and greater standardisation. The homes would be designed and constructed to reach as close to zero emissions and net zero carbon as possible.

The partners involved in the project are the Scottish Government, Scottish Futures Trust, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of Edinburgh, The City of Edinburgh Council, and Built Environment – Smarter Transformation.

The project is being developed in collaboration with all the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal (ESESCRD) partners which includes Fife, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and the Scottish Borders councils. This area has been selected as all the local authorities have already committed to the development of high-quality sustainable homes through the city region deal and the areas accounts for 26% of Scotland’s population meaning the project will also be able to test the scalability of any outcomes.

Developed in partnership with six local authorities and the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region, partners have committed resources over the next two years to establish and manage the Regional Delivery Alliance, to take on the outputs and resources created by the EHD programme and will seek to embed the principles of the new delivery model through the pipeline of future affordable homes in the coming years.

www.be-st.build

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Built Environment – Smarter Transformation is administered by Edinburgh Napier University.

Edinburgh Napier University, registered in Scotland, Charity Number SC018373. Registered address: Edinburgh Napier University, 219 Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH14 1DJ.

Previously on Edinburgh Architecture:

15 May 2023

Edinburgh’s next net zero carbon affordable housing project

Greendykes net zero affordable housing design:

Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Granton Approval

Proposals to transform currently vacant land into an affordable net zero carbon housing development in Edinburgh have now been approved by city planners.

Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Project

Greendykes net zero affordable homes design:

image courtesy of The Edinburgh Home Demonstrator (EHD)