Eco friendly homes Wiltshire | Energy efficiency

Green homes have been with us for a while now but what makes a property ‘green’? The simple answer is one that is environmentally friendly and sustainable. It could be one that has either been built or remodelled in order to conserve energy or water, improve indoor air quality, uses sustainable, recycled or used materials and produces less waste.

The extent to which a house may be considered ‘green’ can vary. At the basic end this could be just involve a few simple improvements to an existing building such as lagging pipes, insulating lofts and cavity walls, installing double glazing and using energy efficient appliances and light bulbs. In truth, this is now regarded as standard practice.

At the other end of the spectrum, truly eco-friendly houses will be designed and built to minimise their environmental impact using materials and technology that reduces its carbon footprint and lowers its energy needs. These could be built into the ground, out of straw or wool bales or even glass with the latter having two or three layers with gas in between to prevent heat loss.  There are many options when it comes to sustainable roofs from turf to tiles made out of recycled tyres.

Rather than the usual mains connected services, these could be self-sufficient. Water for example could be supplied by a private stream or well, harvested rain water or from a ‘grey water’ treatment system. In many rural areas septic tank is the usual means of foul drainage disposal and is an acceptable natural sewage method although private treatment plants are preferable. Many of us would probably baulk at the idea of an earth or composting toilet although these were common place in the 19th Century.

An alternative to using energy from polluting fossil fuel or nuclear generated power stations would be to produce one’s own electricity from natural sources such as wind, sun and water. The installation of photovoltaic solar panels boomed a few years ago when generous tariffs paid for surplus electricity sold to the National Grid was seen as a nice little earner by private home owners as well as a means of providing cheap energy.

In the UK we have been slow to take advantage of the many eco-friendly means of heating that continental home owners use such as air or ground sourced heating pumps or bio-mass fuel. The initial capital cost of the equipment can be more than a conventional oil or gas boiler but are often much cheaper to run.

One energy efficient property for sale that Rural View are currently marketing that encompasses many of the points above and more, is Jasmine Cottage in the attractive rural hamlet of Fonthill Gifford near Tisbury. The current owners have completely refurbished their delightful home from top to bottom installing exceptionally high levels of insulation, underfloor heating, a heat recovery ventilation system, solar panels and a wood pellet fired boiler which, under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, provides a quarterly income of £346. Get in touch with us for more information.