Homes where ordinary families have taken steps to lead a greener lifestyle, are being opened to visitors in Swanage, Langton Matravers and Wareham as part of the Dorset Greener Homes initiative.
Over two weekends in September 2024, the Greener Homes focus will be on achievable solutions to cut energy use, reduce waste and save money, as well as looking after nature in your garden.
A self build Hanse Haus home in Wareham, which is A+ energy rated and as near passive as possible
Greener homes focus on cutting energy
The green ideas put into practice should inspire anyone who has ever thought about wanting to use fewer fossil fuels and become lower energy users – or even just to save money as the cost of conventional electricity and gas continues to rise.
Dorset Climate Action Network is hoping to persuade more Purbeck families to join the green revolution by making environmentally friendly changes to their homes after seeing what others have already done.
All styles and ages of homes can be upgraded – this Langton Matravers house was built in 1928
Save money and help the environment
For the 11th year, there is an opportunity to walk round other people’s homes and talk to the owners about low carbon changes they have made to their lives, including solar panels, heat pumps and electric cars. There are eight homes to visit in Purbeck and almost 40 across Dorset.
Even simple steps like insulating your home, recycling water, setting up a sustainable vegetable garden or encouraging wildlife to your gardens can save money and benefit the environment.
And all manner of homes, from country cottages to self-build houses, terraced homes to a campsite have made changes to be more sustainable, whether they are modern or almost a century old.
Robert and Julie Baker with one of three air to air pumps which now heat their Langton Matravers home
Air to air pumps on inside walls
Julie and Robert Baker, whose Langton Matravers home was built in 1928, are always happy to talk to visitors about their lifestyle and Julie Baker said:
“People can feel it’s all a bit scary to throw everything out and make big changes, but we have made lots of little changes. We’ve still got our gas boiler, for instance, for emergencies, although we rarely use it.
“While most people fit air to water pumps, they would struggle here because we have such a big, old house.
“Instead we have put air to air pumps on three inside walls which gives us heating on the ground floor of the house, and we have solar panels to provide our hot water and power the car.
“Our air source pumps provide us with as much immediate heat as we need and because it doesn’t have to go all round the house through pumps and radiators, they are very efficient and cost us under £5,000 to install.”
Solar panels have powered the Bakers’ electric car for free over many years
Generating free electricity for years
Robert Baker said:
“Essentially they are air conditioning units and have a three to one ratio of energy input to energy output, so we can use 1 kw of energy to provide 3 kw of heating and they just heat our living room, front room and hall as and when we need.
“We don’t like hot bedrooms and tend to put on extra layers and slippers and use a hot water bottle, and Julie has made very thick, long curtains, which are triple lined and will insulate the double glazed windows.
“We have standard 4 kw solar panels which have been generating free electricity for years, but we have now got two devices called eddi and zappi.
“Eddi will heat the hot water when there’s excess solar that’s not being used elsewhere in the house and zappi will do the same with an electric car charger.
“Our little electric car only does about 80 miles on a full charge, but it is absolutely perfect for all our requirements. In the summer it is mostly powered by our own solar electricity, but zappi allows us to top it up in the middle of the night if we want, at about a quarter of the daytime price.”
“You can have a lovely lifestyle without being extravagant” – Robert and Julie Baker by the pond they built during lockdown
“We have tried to be really low energy”
Robert added:
“We haven’t flown anywhere for about 11 years. We take the train wherever we can and find that it’s always such a nicer way to go on holiday. We are not anti-flying at all, we just think that people ought to think about consuming a bit less energy.
“You can have a lovely lifestyle without being extravagant, we have got to Corsica from here by bus, train and ferry, but one of our nicest holidays ever was three days in Kimmeridge, it was absolutely gorgeous.
“We are not terribly political, but we have tried through our lifestyle to be really low energy and green, and tell other people about it without shoving it down their throats.
“It’s a really good opportunity through Greener Homes that we are able to show people around our home and explain our way of life.”
Alison and Derek’s house is easy to find – it’s got an impressive array of solar panels
Terraced house retrofitted to zero carbon
Alison Jay and Derek Moss, whose terraced house in Trent Drive, Wareham, was built in 1968 and hadn’t been modernised since then, knew exactly what they wanted to do with it when they moved in.
Both are directors of Dorset Community Energy and have jobs connected to sustainability, so they knew exactly what they would do when moving into their first mortgaged home – retrofit it to zero carbon.
Cavity wall insulation at a cost around £800, loft insulation for about £400, and solar panels for £7,000 were immediate purchases.
Alison Jay said:
“We got solar panels in before the bathroom was functional and we got the heat pump installed before the kitchen was functional, so not many people would do it that way round.
“We knew we wanted to do this when we got a house, though we appreciate it might not be top priority for everybody. But if you want to feel warmer in your house, then insulate as much as possible, turn your heating down and save money.”
Derek Moss and Alison Jay with their quiet, efficient and much loved air to water heat source pump
“We planned where the heat pump would be”
Derek Moss added:
“If you only do one thing with your house, I would add solar panels, though it depends on how much money you have and whether you are more concerned about carbon or saving money.
“Cavity wall insulation will only make a 10 or 15 percent saving on whatever your heating bill or carbon footprint is, whereas solar panels are going to generate full power to heat your home and you can export the rest.
“Keeping heat in your home and not letting it escape is important, but from a practical point of view if you have the money to put solar panels on you will get a much bigger carbon saving and a much bigger money saving – and the sooner you do it, the sooner you start to save.
“From the first day we got the keys and moved in here we planned where the heat pump was going to be. You can never decarbonise gas, so it is best to move all your heating to electricity, then you can either generate heat with it or move it to a heat pump which is much more efficient.”
Farndreg has been fitted with solar panels, battery storage, a heat pump, insulation, LED lighting and more in the last six years
“First step is to stop heat getting out”
Lucinda Neall, who is opening up her home in Swanage for the Greener Homes event, said:
“Farndreg is a 1970s property, we moved in six years ago and found out that half the house didn’t have insulation.
“Everyone says that the first step towards making your house more efficient and greener is to stop heat getting out and because we were both over 65 we got a grant even though we had been prepared to pay for it.
“Then we looked at LED lighting, solar panels through the Solar Street Swanage initiative, then a battery to store any extra solar power created that we weren’t using.
“And in 2022 we invested in an air source heat pump with the help of the £5,000 grant through the boiler upgrade scheme, which has since been increased to £7,500 until March 2028.”
Although radiators need a larger surface area for heat pumps, they don’t have to impact your living space
“You just need to change your mindset”
Lucinda added:
“That has been a wonderful investment. Lots of people would like to make their homes greener but are nervous about taking the plunge and are worried that heat pumps will be huge, or really noisy, expensive to run or inefficient at heating up your house.
“The Greener Homes initiative is to help reassure people by looking at what other families have done and what their experience has been, and getting a true story from them rather than a sales pitch.
“While you don’t get immediate heat like you would from a gas boiler, you just need to change your mindset – a heat pump is designed to stay on for longer without costing you more, keeping your home at a consistent temperature throughout.
“And because the water flow is more efficient at a lower temperature, the surface area of your home’s radiators needs to be larger, but we barely notice the difference now it is done.”
Solar panels at The Knap in Swanage, which also serves honey cake made with help from its resident bees
A poor quality bungalow in Wareham was demolished and replaced with an energy efficient selfbuild home
Selfbuild home near perfect efficiency
For families who are curious about what green benefits can be achieved in a new house, the selfbuild Hanse Haus home in Bestwall Road, Wareham, will amaze – it is designed to have very low energy use and be ‘near passive’.
Alicia and Richard Andrews bought a poor quality bungalow on the site and gained planning permission for a selfbuild one and three quarter storey house which arrived with typical German efficiency with all sections in exactly the right order to be craned into place in less than two weeks.
With walls 30 cm deep, triple glazed windows, a depth and quality of insulation way above UK standards and 25 solar panels fully integrated into the roof, the only element which prevents the house having 100 percent energy efficiency is a cat flap for the family pet – and even then, the Germans insisted it was a tunnel rather than a flap.
The home, which is 10 years old this month, now features rain water harvest to an underground tank to supply washing machine and toilet water, zoned underfloor heating in every room, full LED lighting, a smart bidirectional electric car charger and much else besides.
The frame of the selfbuild home in Bestwall Road was put up in less than a fortnight
Swanage’s greener homes
- Farndreg, Southcliffe Road, Swanage BH19 2JE Open on Saturday 14th September 2024, with tours at 10.30 am, 12.30 pm and 3 pm, and open by appointment all year round. Heat pump, solar panels with battery, sustainable materials and low cost improvements. To book, please email lucinda@neallscott.co.uk
- The Knap, Southcliffe Road, Swanage BH19 2JE Open on Saturday 14th September 2024, from 11 am to 4 pm. Solar PV with battery, lifestyle changes, bee-keeping, living roofs, tea and honey cake. Just turn up.
- California Meadows, Priests Way, Swanage BH19 2RS Open for tours on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September 2024. Ground-based solar array, a guided wildlife walk and possibly an archaeological dig. Bring a picnic. Please text Karen on 07730680579 to arrange a time
- South View, Langton Matravers, BH19 3HE Not open this September due to family commitments, but open by appointment all year round. Solar PV with a diverter to heat water and charge the electric car, solar thermal tubes, air to air heat pumps, wildlife friendly and organic garden. Email jibaker@btinternet.com to make an appointment
Walls Road View in Wareham, a retrofitted bungalow with solar panels, rainwater recovery and lots of recycling
Greener homes in Wareham
- Bestwall Road, Wareham BH20 4HY Reserved tours on Sunday 15th September at 10.30 am, 11.15 am, 12 noon, 12.45 pm and Sunday 21st September at similar times. Self-build A+ rated, near-passive house. Solar PV panels, Tesla Powerwall battery, rainwater harvesting. Please book through Eventbrite link on Dorset CAN website
- West Walls, Wareham, BH20 4QH Not open during event dates, but can be visited by appointment all year round. Please email or phone Ian on ian@durotriges.net 07887 823023 to book an appointment. Early 1900s mid terrace, cavity wall insulation, Solar PV with iboost and battery, heat pump and permaculture productive garden
- Walls View Road, Wareham, BH15 2EN Open Sunday 15th and Sunday 22nd September, please book a visit by ringing 01929 550138. Retrofitted bungalow with PV panels and batteries, ventilation system, rainwater recovery and a keen recycler.
- Trent Road, Wareham, BH20 4DF Open Sunday 22nd September 2024 from 12 noon to 5 pm, just turn up. An existing house, retrofitted to zero carbon, with Solar PV, heat pump, lifestyle changes
Further information
- More details of all properties are on the Dorset Climate Action Network website
