Opening doors to low energy refurbishment
News
SuperHomes News Update Feb 2013
Welcome
In January we added our 150th SuperHome. But things are moving fast and we are already up to our 158th! Recent additions include the Bryn Elltyd Eco Guest House in Gwynedd, orginally built in 1883. This has achieved a 92% carbon saving. It’s in a spectacular setting too! Another newcomer in Faringdon is just fitting a ground source heat pump…It’s all happening!
Bryn Elltyd Eco Guest House
In this update
SuperHomes Week: Inspiration for the Nation
More insights to help you plan your refurb
Awards for SuperHomers keep on coming!
Flythrough gallery gets a bold new look
SuperHomes Week: Inspiration for the Nation
With around 50 SuperHomes set to open across the UK, SuperHomes Week 16-24 March is a chance to see eco renovation at its impressive best.
Perhaps you want to find out how green technologies work. Maybe you are planning your own home refurbishment. Either way, this is an opportunity to see, feel and discover what a difference eco renovation can make to your home. You’ll hear about both the benefits and challenges involved from homeowners with first hand experience. Joining a guided tour will provide actionable ideas for greening your own home.
Technologies on display this March include external and internal wall insulation, biomass boilers, air source heat pumps, triple glazing and much more. With eleven exciting new additions to the network opening for the first time, there’s always something new to explore. Admission is free, but places are often offered on a first come, first served basis, so advance booking is recommended. You can search for homes to visit by location, postcode, technology or event date.
Expanding Green Open Homes
Since January we have been busy recruiting a number of other green open homes in Aylesbury Vale, Camden and Milton Keynes. We are also working with the National Trust to shed light on the barriers to eco refurbishment in heritage buildings. This work has been made possible by Green Deal Pioneer Places funding provided to Local Authorities. We are still seeking green home owners in the Camden area who would be happy to welcome visitors. This is all about demonstrating what can be done to make an older home more eco-friendly.
More insights to help you plan your refurb
Our contributors have been working tirelessly to bring you more impartial independent advice on what has been found to work in eco refurbishment.
Since our last news update we have added articles on flat renovation, sash window replacement, choosing a green boiler, internal wall insulation, LED lights for home use, draught-proofing (more important than you may think!), MVHR and more.
Our latest article explores the ultimate challenge – retrofit to passivhaus standard!
Most of our Eco Renovation FAQs are written by SuperHomers who have already worked through a maze of options to reach their favoured solution. This can save you a lot of time. A very helpful plain English guide to the Green Deal offer is also there to peruse and was recently updated. See our eco-renovation FAQs section for more, or dip into the SuperHomes Forum. Recent topics on the Forum include cork insulation and how to work internal wall insulation around windows.
Awards for SuperHomers keep on coming!
Paul and partner Celia with two of the ‘Hungry Boys’
SuperHomers and our partners picked up a total of 5 awards at the Retro Expo Awards. These included Domestic Retrofit Project or the Year (the first SuperHome in Northern Ireland) and the DECC Retrofit Pioneer Award (which went to long serving SuperHomers Penney Poyzer and Gil Schalom)
Also at the tail end of last year, SuperHomer Paul Ciniglio was named the Green Social Housing Champion 2012 at the Sustainable Housing Awards. Paul Sousek’s Cottage Farm SuperHome was also recognised at the Best Renewable Energy Scheme at the Cornwall Sustainability Awards. And Tom Pakenham won the Refurbishment Project Award at the 2013 Building Performance Awards…
Read more on SuperHomers’ Award successes
Flythrough gallery gets a bold new look
If you’ve been to our video flythroughs gallery lately you may have noticed the bold new look. You can now select homes to view by house type and age – helpful if you want to find the closest match to your own home. For ease, SuperHomes are now also presented by location in alphabetic order. Our latest fly through addition is an interview with Christ Preist whose 5 bedroom Victorian house in Bristol has undergone extensive renovation including new double glazed sash windows, internal wall insulation and MVHR to make it one of the most comfortable and least costly to run in the neighbourhood.
Other Green Events
You may already be involved in Climate Week 4-10 March – there are literally 1000s of events listed on the website so finding something local should be easy. Other dates for the diary if you are considering a refurb could be Ecobuild 5-7 March and the Homebuilding and Renovating Show 21-24 March. See our summary page for details of these and other green building events. And do download our Free Eco Retrofit Beginners Guide if you are just getting started…
Download our Free Eco Retrofit Guide
Suggestions Box
We’re using social media and tweeting news on a near daily basis. So, if you’d like a real time connection with all things SuperHomes, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Please email us any ideas for what you’d like to see included on the website. We hope it helps you and look forward to welcoming you during SuperHomes Week 2013.
And yes, we are planning for more SuperHome Open Days in September – you heard it here first!
Gordon, John, Camille & Gabby
The SuperHomes Team
