Pennyland project

It involved the construction of an estate of 177 houses in the Pennyland area of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.

Although identical externally, half the Pennyland houses (Area 1) were built to the proposed 1982 UK Building Regulations energy efficiency standards.

Among the lessons learned were: The short payback times encouraged Milton Keynes Development Corporation to introduce its own Building Regulation standards for new housing within the city leading to the major 1986 Energy World demonstration project and exhibition.

The issue of mould growth in air-tight houses has since been tackled by Building Regulation requirements for specific ventilation in kitchens, bathrooms and toilets.

The levels of insulation tested at Pennyland and Great Linford in the early 1980s were only surpassed in the UK Building Regulation requirements in 2002.