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Ordinary home turned eco-home
Richard works for a national construction company and has helped deliver eco-schools and sports centres. Inspired by those projects, he and his wife Rachel set out to apply the same sustainable standards to their own 1960s family home.
Key stats
Location: Somerset
12kW Midea R32 air source heat pump
250L Gledhill hot water cylinder
65% reduction in carbon emissions
Building a sustainable home:
“We bought an ordinary home with an extraordinary view and set about turning it into an eco-home. Getting rid of fossil fuels was a must.
“We made the building warm with plenty of insulation, and airtight with a vapour-proof membrane. To prevent moisture and mould, we installed Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR), which also reuses heat from outgoing air to provide a constant, ambient warmth.
“The final step was installing an air source heat pump to power our underfloor heating and hot water.”
Smooth installation:
“Our install took three days. Good Energy communicated brilliantly with other trades and were very careful about preserving the airtightness of the building by predetermining entry points.”
Smarter efficiency:
“Good Energy’s aftercare has been excellent. By remotely monitoring performance, they fine-tuned our heat pump to run at a constant, lower level of heat. It’s made the system more efficient, reduced our bills, and kept us perfectly comfortable.”
