Renewable Technology
Since day one, Hawkes Architecture has followed the principle: “generate on site, use on site.” We design highly insulated, airtight buildings to reduce energy demand, maximise passive solar gain, and then integrate renewables such as solar panels, ground source heat pumps, or MVHR systems. This layered, low-energy strategy ensures our homes are efficient, self-sufficient, and built for long-term sustainability.
Since day one, Hawkes Architecture has followed the principle: “generate on site, use on site.” We design highly insulated, airtight buildings to reduce energy demand, maximise passive solar gain, and then integrate renewables such as solar panels, ground source heat pumps, or MVHR systems. This layered, low-energy strategy ensures our homes are efficient, self-sufficient, and built for long-term sustainability.
Design Principles
Renewable Strategy
Our design principles advocate finding ways of reducing a building’s need for energy in the first place through efficient fabric design (wrapping a building in a nice warm jacket) and harnessing as much free winter sunshine heating as possible. Only once these opportunities have been taken do we turn to looking at how best to provide this optimised energy requirement using clean, sustainable, and renewable energy resources.
Click onto the page below if you want to read about just how fundamental these intelligent design practices are to Hawkes!
Careful Consideration
At Hawkes Architecture, we carefully assess each site to determine the most appropriate and effective sustainable technologies. From tree cover and topography to orientation and microclimate, every factor is considered to ensure renewable systems—like solar panels or heat pumps—are tailored to the site’s unique conditions and integrated seamlessly into the design.
At Hawkes Architecture, we carefully assess each site to determine the most appropriate and effective sustainable technologies. From tree cover and topography to orientation and microclimate, every factor is considered to ensure renewable systems—like solar panels or heat pumps—are tailored to the site’s unique conditions and integrated seamlessly into the design.
Building a world that meet our needs, without denying future generations
Christopher Flavin
Heating Technology
Building "Passive" minimises the need for heating
At Hawkes we embrace the principles of Passive House design. High levels of insulation and airtightness help to keep the warm air within a home. Heat recovery ventilation retains the heat & keeps the air fresh.
We have been working closely with the renewable energy sector from the practice’s inception. It’s in our DNA.
This experience and constant drive to improve and innovate has led the practice to develop some powerful tools to help determine how best to serve a building with clean renewable sustainable energy. We won’t simply be swayed by the swanky pitch of a heat pump salesman or the convincing claims from a kick starter. We question everything to ensure our thinking is always joined up and our solutions robust.
Associates
Renewable heating contractors
Power
Generating & storing electricity
Homes require two principle sources of energy; heat and power.
While the most significant challenge is to reduce the quantum of energy required for heating, finding ways to reduce electricity bills is a significant focus with every Hawkes building.
Making a house self powered is easy in the summer when the sun is shining on long warm day. The real challenge is keeping a house energy efficient during the short days and long nights of a cold winter.
Solar panels will not offset the power consumption of a heat pump on a cold wintery evening!
We apply our unparalleled level of experience to developing robust workable solutions that understand changing seasonal energy dynamics. Balancing the size of a solar and battery storage array is important to managing the financial investment & return – not just financially but also the embodied carbon and ongoing CO2 emissions that come with each component of a solution.
Associates
Renewable Energy suppliers
Build a Home That Powers Itself
At Hawkes Architecture, we design low-energy homes that work with the land—maximising natural heat and light, and integrating renewables that suit your site. Ready to explore how solar, heat pumps, or energy storage can be part of your new home? Get in touch to start your low-energy journey!