The estate known as "Moonstone Project" in Great Britain near the English town of Cheltenham is an impressive example of a perfect way to blend luxury construction at the highest level with modern architecture and an ecological, sustainable outlook.
The developer John Croft used a former industrial site to build an ultra modern, multi-level home that leaves nothing to be desired and features more than six bedrooms, a swimming pool, a fitness studio, a cinema and a playroom.
At the same time, the building meets the highest environmental standards. The Schlüter-BEKOTEC-THERM ceramic thermal comfort floor is making an important contribution to this concept. It was installed over the entire utility area of 1470 m² of the impressive home in combination with natural stone pavers of the Jerusalem Gold brand. "John Croft chose our system because he was convinced by the high responsiveness of our floor heating system based on its low assembly height," explains Carl Stokes, Divisional Manager at Schlüter-Systems Ltd in Great Britain. "Of course, the energy efficiency of the ceramic thermal comfort floor was also an important concern for him since he was aiming to build an "Positive Energy House," i.e. a home that generates more energy than it consumes and is completely energy-independent."
The ceramic thermal comfort floor proved to be the ideal solution for the construction project because its low assembly height is a perfect match for operation with renewable energy sources. The Moonstone Project makes use of exactly this kind of energy: 80% of the required energy is generated by a photovoltaic wall, while the remaining 20% is supplied by a heat pump.
This form of energy generation is supplemented by state-of-the-art insulation solutions: the walls are made of 50 cm layers of solid stone and modern extruded and waterproof insulation material, respectively. The inside again features concrete blocks, which contribute to cooling in the summer and to thermal storage in the winter. In combination with triple-glazed windows, this resulted in a building that meets the highest standards for passive homes and even exceeds the installation values of this standard by as much as 65%.
Accordingly, the Moonstone Project is impressive proof that the "house of the future" can already be a model for demanding and sustainable residential construction today. With innovative building materials and a carefully coordinated energy savings concept, sustainable building can be easily implemented in such luxury projects without sacrificing any comfort. The Schlüter-BEKOTEC-THERM ceramic thermal comfort floor is making an important contribution to this concept as an energy-efficient floor heating system.