After four years of hard work and £230,000 spent, Lindsay Berresford, 34, and her partner David Ffrench, 38, have the eco-friendly home of their dreams.
And it’s all paid off, as the couple now have an energy bill of under £150 a month.
The couple bought a plot of land in Easton back in 2011, and teamed up with Michael Drake Architects to design the environmentally-conscious home they had always wanted.
As construction got underway, Lindsay and David sold their flat in Horfield to help pay for the build.
This meant the couple, who had one child at the time, lived in a Portakabin next to the temporary construction site for three years.
The pair wanted every part of their home to be as eco-friendly as possible, starting with the foundations.
Lindsay said: ‘We used pile foundations rather than trench, which means we used a lot less concrete.
‘I think we used little to no plastic at all in the materials we needed to build the house.
‘We have hempline plaster rather than plasterboard, and our insulation uses blown cellulotes.
‘The house is so insulated it’s basically airtight. It mostly keeps itself warm.
‘We have a rainwater system to flush the toilets – the rainwater gathers on the roof and then down through the gutters into a filtration tank underground.’
After years of watching their home take shape, the family moved in in June 2015 – just as Lindsay discovered she was pregnant with twins.
That made the design process even more challenging, but the family say it’s entirely worth it.
The couple receive a Renewable Heat Incentive grant from the Government, which pretty much pays their energy bills for them.
The two quarterly payments from the grant are based on the energy bill estimates for their incredible, four-bedroom eco home, and the couple claim they save almost £1,500 each year.
The home, in Easton, Bristol, uses solar panels, which heats their water for at least six months of the year.
In winter, their home is warmed by a biomass pellet boiler, in which wood pellets release gases that burn with higher efficiency and lower fossil fuels.
‘We spent a lot of money on this house, but with the government grant, we have more money coming in than going out,’ said David.
‘There’s a misconception that it’s difficult if you want to build your own home.
‘It’s quite easy to get permission if you want to build a house within the city – the council wanted us to build this home.’
Lindsay and David have also worked hard to make their lifestyles match the environmental ethos of their home.
They don’t own a car, using an electric cargo bike instead to cart around the kids, and Lindsay almost exclusively buys second-hand clothes.
They opt for glass milk bottles rather than plastic and try to avoid packaging as much as possible – although this can be hard with three young kids.
Have you built your own dream home? Get in touch to share your story by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/24/couple-spend-four-years-230000-building-eco-friendly-dream-home-12114474/
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