The Airigh Range

Our new Airigh collection is inspired by the sheilings (àirighean) that were once common in the Scottish Highlands. These small dwellings were occupied while the cattle were out on their summer pastures. Our range of Airighs are a modern interpretation of this building type, but finds a new use for a traditional building.

They are ideally suited for high-quality holiday lets and work wonderfully well in many of our remote and beautiful communities providing a great business opportunity.  Because of their low profile, small footprint and cultural continuity, we have found that they are often allowed to be built in places where a more traditional house would not get planning consent. And they are also suitable for more urban sites as an outbuilding for a home office or additional family accommodation.

Like all or designs, the airighs are characterised by walls of glass, beautiful volumes and careful detailing. And like traditional airighs and cabins they come in a variety of shapes, with flat roof, mono-pitch and dual-pitched forms available.

At Hebhomes we design under the principle of “fabric first”, meaning our highly insulated building envelopes minimise the amount of energy required to heat the house. This allows them to achieve extremely high energy performance ratings. And we do this with the most sustainable of materials, timber. Our designs are offered in three structural timber systems.

CPS

Our closed panel system has been developed in Scotland and uses a “space stud”. This minimises the risk of cold-bridging that you find in standard timber stud kits, and has a deep profile. This not only allows us to fill the panel with a great depth of insulation, it also has a great visual impact at the openings due to the depth of wall.

SIP

Structurally insulated panels has been the standard for Hebhomes for a number of years. Because the insulation is blown in to the panels it is fully bonded ensuring that there are no gaps.

CLT

Cross -laminated timber is the next generation of construction and is made up of solid timber. It is usually insulated externally with a wood-fibre board, making it the greenest construction product available. We are the first UK company to offer CLT in kit house format to the market.

High Performance Windows and Doors

Our high-quality windows and doors can provide a net gain to the energy performance. We have very low U-values with our standard product manufacturer (Nordan) of 1.2 W/(m².K)  but we also offer upgrades to triple-glazing and Passive Standard windows up to 0.7 W/(m².K).

Solar gain and shading

Our designs have large areas of glazing which can be used to harness solar gain. All our living spaces have the ability to be cross ventilated, allowing the homeowner to control the internal environment.  In some cases glazing will require solar protection to avoid overheating in the summer so we have designed the option of trellises to act as solar shades.

Smart ventilation design

Although natural ventilation design is possible with our airtight construction details and low infiltration rates, many of our customers install a ventilation system.  There are several options. The most efficient systems are automated and can act as climate control for your home. MVHR, a ‘mechanical ventilation heat recovery’ system, has extract and supply air terminals in all rooms of the house connected to a central unit that controls the air in an efficient and balanced way. This system is designed by our service engineering specialists and has several advantages over a natural ventilation strategy.  All the air in the home is filtered and fresh with the entire volume of air changing every 30 minutes.  This reduces moisture, pollutants, odours and humidity, which helps with health and allergies, security and midges (windows can be shut and locked in summer), and protection from outside noise.

Renewable heating systems

Hebhomes works with a specialist heating consultant to offer you a range of renewable technology options for heating your house. This includes air source heat pumps (ASHP), ground source heat pumps (GSHP), solar panels and photovoltaic cells, among others. You can choose the system that works best for your house and your budget. All these technologies may be eligible for a loan from the Energy Savings Trust in the different nations of the UK, and may also allow you to access feed-in tariffs (FIT) where you get paid for generating electricity.

Zero-Carbon Future

All our homes aim to meet the challenge of the zero-carbon economy, and we are constantly looking at ways of improving our products and to set an example of how we can protect our planet in the challenging times ahead. But we also realise that true sustainability comes when we build houses that fit in to our beautiful landscapes and built-environments, ones that future generations will cherish and preserve.