Almost all the open homes have efficient LED lighting, double or triple glazing, and solar PV panels. The categories below show the features of our greener homes in addition to these. By 'retrofit' we mean work on an existing house to make it more efficient, better insulated, drier etc. Find a home on the map, or the list below, and click on the name (in blue) for more details.
Low Cost Improvements Sustainable Materials Lifestyle Changes Retrofit
A Victorian Listed building extensively eco- retrofitted with sustainable materials.
Solar PV with Battery Lifestyle Changes Retrofit Solar Hot Water Open by Appointment all year round Low Cost Improvements
A seventies house with extensive interior and exterior insulation; PV panels charge a battery and the car, and heat water, and a solar thermal panel also heats the water. Extensive rainwater harvesting.
Heat Pump Sustainable Materials Lifestyle Changes Open by Appointment all year round
A highly insulated converted barn, the build included repurposing materials onsite. It boasts passivhaus triple glazing, Mechanical ventilation and Heat Recovery. Also Underfloor Heating from a ground source heat pump.
Solar PV with Battery Lifestyle Changes Retrofit Solar Hot Water Open by Appointment all year round
How do you turn a sixties bungalow with an EPC D into a highly efficient , nearly net zero home with an EPC of A? Here's how!
Low Cost Improvements Solar PV with Battery Lifestyle Changes Retrofit Open by Appointment all year round
70s building with extensive insulation, different materials for each wall allowing comparison. PV panels with Tesla battery.
Heat Pump Solar PV with Battery Sustainable Materials Lifestyle Changes Retrofit Open by Appointment all year round
The use of traditional and renewable materials and ensuring that the 500 year old building would be as energy efficient as possible were the principles behind the restoration.
Shaftesbury's Community Farm attracts volunteers who enjoy one another's company as they use sustainable approaches to growing fruit and a range of salads and vegetables, as well as keeping chickens (for eggs) and bees (mainly for pollination).
Solar PV with Battery Lifestyle Changes Retrofit Heat Pump
Retrofitted bungalow with PV panels and batteries, ventilation system, rainwater recovery and a keen recycler.
Retrofit Lifestyle Changes Heat Pump
An existing house, retrofitted to zero carbon.
Solar PV with Battery Lifestyle Changes Solar Hot Water Open by Appointment all year round
Solar PV with a diverter to heat water and charge the EV, Solar thermal tubes, air-air-heat pumps; wildlife friendly and organic garden. garden d
Solar PV with Battery Lifestyle Changes
Come along and enjoy our bee friendly garden and see our new living roof(s) on the shed and summer house. We also hope to show a range of bee keeping and honey extraction equipment. And if you have time, you can enjoy a slice of honey cake and a cup of tea.
Solar PV with Battery Lifestyle Changes Heat Pump Retrofit
In-roof PV Panels with Battery, Air source Heat pump. The owners have undertaken a pretty extensive thermal upgrade to the house.