But don’t feel too down about it. After all, the owner’s investment was significant.
A three-bedroom farmhouse in Wales has been transformed into a super-eco house which consumes far less energy than the average home. It is the first 100% sustainable property of its kind in Ebbw Vale, Wales, and features a number of sustainable technologies to be completely off the grid, technologies which include photovoltaic panels, rainwater harvesting, a biomass boiler and thermal stores and innovative skirting board heating.
The family is in fact completely off the grid now, not connected to any energy supplier. How many homeowners can say the same? It’s estimated that only 1 in 500 homes across Great Britain is 100% self-sustainable, although the number of homes that at least score highly with regard to energy efficiency are high – especially new builds. Older properties are less energy efficient, however there is help from the government to improve your homes thermal efficiency. More information on this can be found at the Energy Saving Trust.
SWALEC
The family created their super-eco house in conjunction with energy provider SWALEC – SWALEC contact phone number – which is owned by SSE – one of the Big Six. SWALEC is committed to the environment and the Ofgem ECO programme, which was introduced into Great Britain at the beginning of 2013. The programme replaced two previous programmes and places legal obligations on larger energy suppliers who deal with domestic customers.
The Building Research Establishment also helped to create the home. Over the past two years, the home’s renewable energy technologies and overall energy water consumption has been monitored – the results will astonish you.
In year 1, the family used 63-litres of water per day per person. That’s far less than the average of 157-litres per day per person. And the usage of electricity was far lower than that of your typical house – 2.15 kilowatt hours per day, versus the average 8.8 kilowatt hours per day. The family is said to be enjoying life in their eco house.
The benefits of solar electricity are huge. It takes significant investment to create a solar strategy that pays for a home’s entire needs, but even a small installation can cut your electricity bills and cut your carbon footprint. If you generate more energy than you need, you can also sell electricity back to the grid and get paid for the electricity you generate.