Cohousing
(in a nutshell)
|
Physical Implementation |
Economic benefits |
Social implication |
Environmental Impact |
| District
heating
including CHP and or Geothermal |
30% more cost effective than individual units | Shared community resource and responsibility | More efficient use of resources- less CO2 |
| Grey water recycling | Reduces water bills | Individual responsibility | Reduces consumption of clean water |
| Rain water capture and use | Reduces water bills | Individual and collective responsibility | Reduces consumption of treated clean drinking water |
| Compost toilets | Reduces water bills and sewage charges | Individual
responsibility
(Individual households to decide whether to incorporate in house design) |
Reduces consumption of clean water and costly treatment work- provides organic fertiliser |
| Water solar heaters | Saves up to 30% of household energy consumption | Individual responsibility | More efficient use of resources- less CO2 produced |
| Photo-voltaic for electricity generation | Community is a net producer of electricity- generates income | Individual and collective responsibility | More efficient use of resources- no CO2 produced |
| Passive solar design | Saves up to 20% of household energy consumption | Individual and collective responsibility | More efficient use of resources- less CO2 produced |
| Reed bed sewage system | Reduces sewage charges | Individual and collective responsibility | Clean
water produced
|
| Co-operative buying | Creates economies of scale and reduces individual transport costs | Individual and collective responsibility | Reduces packaging and individual travel/traffic |
| Garden/allotments and poly-tunnels | Own produced healthy food -with option to sell surpluses | Individual and collective responsibility | Reduces packaging and individual travel/traffic -food miles |
| Car sharing/car pool | Economies of scale and individual transport costs | Individual and collective responsibility | Reduces number of cars required per household |
| Workshop/office facilities | Opportunity for livelihood | Individual and collective responsibility | Reduces travel/traffic and CO2 |
| Shared facilities ie laundry/ freezers | Economies of scale - one or two large units instead of 27 small ones | Individual and collective responsibility | More efficient- less waste |
| Common House | Opportunities for guest rooms, creche facilities, etc | Social centre and community facility | On site services and opportunities - less travel |
| Playground and open space including ‘wild’ areas | Educational resource | Social centre and community facility Individual and collective responsibility | Green space sensitively managed for diverse habitats |