The Hideaway incorporates innovations and intelligent features that set the standard for the next generation of lodges. The new hideaway lodge satisfies the growing need for environmentally sensitive design, energy efficient performance, extended life expectancy and emotive interior design. When combined these factors offer a luxurious leisure living experience and a truly comparable alternative to a traditionally built holiday home. With a host of technical innovations and intelligent features, the hideaway’s design journey speaks for itself...
Life Expectancy
The Chassis - In traditionally built homes bricks and mortar typically form the fundamental structure, which is regarded to have a life expectancy of 60 years. For the hideaway we were determined to ensure we could offer a chassis that would offer a sound and lasting bedrock in the context of the greater weight bearing on it and provide a certified 60 year minimum life.
Timber superstructure - After the chassis we regard the fundamental timber structure as the next most critical element. The hideaway model benefits from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accredited structural timbers, which have been thickened to create deeper voids for insulation. Wall studs are 120mm, floor joists and roof rafters are 145mm. Highly insulated and with its cladding intact, this structure should well exceed the 60 years.
Risk of obsolescence - We believe the next most significant factor in determining the life expectancy of a lodge to be the risk of obsolescence. The EU is committed to a programme of change to address the global impact of harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and it is clear that the standards of thermal performance and energy efficiency of dwellings are going to be raised dramatically in a very short period of time. The hideaway, with its thicker wall construction and triple glazing, has a thermal performance greater than the majority of traditional bricks and mortar buildings currently being constructed to Building Regulations standards.
Thermal performance
The hideaway has been designed with the aim of achieving a lodge with a SAP rating of B, which is in excess of that generally being achieved by bricks and mortar buildings constructed to current Part L of the Building Regulations. Rather than perpetuate the same 125mm depth external walls more generally used in the industry, we have in The hideaway thickened the structure and insulation of the walls and consequently enhanced the thermal performance. At the same time we have upgraded the insulation material from the traditional fibreglass to a high performance rigid foil-backed insulation board. A similar approach has been taken in the roof where, through the use of enhanced insulation materials, insulation values have been substantially increased.
The envelope is, however, incomplete without consideration of the windows. For this reason we have incorporated the option of triple glazing that, combined with low maintenance aluminium frames and argon-filled low-emissivity glazing units, achieves a U-value of 1.55W/m2K. The design of the hideaway has also been considered in terms of airtightness and solar gain.
Add to this the choice of 'A' rated appliances, predominantly low energy lighting and natural gas powered under-floor heating, and you have what we believe to be the best thermally performing structure in our industry.
Energy efficiency
We have calculated that the heating demand of the hideaway is 5.58kw to maintain an internal temperature of 21C or 18C (depending on the room) when the outside temperature is -1C. Whilst involving a greater capital cost than conventional radiators, under-floor heating provides a more pleasant, uniform, heat source. It requires a lower water temperature to achieve the same heat input to the room than radiators, which allows for more efficient use of the boiler to heat it. Taking this principle further, the installation of a thermal store i.e. a programmable intelligent water storage cylinder, provides a body of stored water that is heated to temperature more gradually than the instantaneous burst required from a typical combination boiler configuration. This steady heat demand allows the boiler to operate in condensing mode for more of the time, which is more efficient, more economical and allows the specified boiler size to be reduced from the typical 30Kw for instantaneous heating to 15Kw.
There are other benefits of a thermal store including improved flow rates for showers and filling baths as the hot water is preheated and not therefore limited by the speed at which the boiler can heat the instantaneous requirement, and the option of having a thermal store that is solar compatible. Over the course of a year, depending on geographic locations and orientation of the solar panels, you can expect to generate 50% of the hot water heating for your lodge from the renewable source.
The lamps used in the hideaway are predominantly low energy with the result that, under full lighting load, the lodge draws just 5.72 amperes of energy, whereas it would require 15 amperes using a combination of tungsten filament and halogen bulbs. Low energy lamps use as little as 25% of the energy of required by tungsten lamps.
Sustainable by design
The hideaway incorporates more natural timber components than any other lodge we know. From the cedar cladding to the oak peninsular bar, and even the oak flooring, we have tried to use FSC or similarly reputable accredited sources of timber. The windows, in addition to being powder-coated aluminium framed, are recessed into the walls to provide greater protection from the elements.
The experience of wellbeing
The hideaway represents the epitome of barefoot luxury. Natural materials, carefully positioned glazing to maximise the sense of space (without the loss of privacy), thicker, more solid walls and beautifully cohesive interior design with three very distinctive options, set the hideaway apart from other lodge designs currently available.
