97 Wollaton Road, Beeston, NG9 2NP.
|
Our semi-detached house was originally built in the 1870's with solid brick walls and slate roof. It was a relatively small two storey property and little had been done to it since uPVC double glazing was added in the '80's.
In 2010 we embarked on a major extension / refurbishment of the house and as part of the brief chose to make it as energy efficient as possible. Due to the nature of our project, much of the work we have done was costlier and more complex than others on the trail but below are some of the changes we made. We've tried to include some of the smaller things we have incorporated as well as the bigger items that can only really be done as part of a more major extension / refurbishment project such as ours.
See below for more information, with the least expensive first and the number of £s giving a rough indication of cost. [Information provided May 2025.] |
|
1. LED LIGHTING £
All light fittings are LED or have LED bulbs fitted. These are now much cheaper and more reliable than they used to be and there is much more variety available. Different colour temperature bulbs allow for different 'feels' in rooms and 'daylight' bulbs are particularly good for those with poor eyesight. They are now also available with 'smart' technology.
Despite doubling the size of the house, the total electricity demand for lighting has actually reduced.
All light fittings are LED or have LED bulbs fitted. These are now much cheaper and more reliable than they used to be and there is much more variety available. Different colour temperature bulbs allow for different 'feels' in rooms and 'daylight' bulbs are particularly good for those with poor eyesight. They are now also available with 'smart' technology.
Despite doubling the size of the house, the total electricity demand for lighting has actually reduced.
2. EX-DISPLAY / SECONDHAND FITTINGS ££
As we were doing the whole project ourselves we had much more control over fixtures and fittings and were able to source a large proportion of ex-display / secondhand items. Not only did this save us quite a bit of money but it also saved a lot of items going to waste / landfill. For example, our large double-ended steel bath cost us £10 due to a small defect in the enamelling which is barely visible when empty and definitely invisible when you're sat in it!
As we were doing the whole project ourselves we had much more control over fixtures and fittings and were able to source a large proportion of ex-display / secondhand items. Not only did this save us quite a bit of money but it also saved a lot of items going to waste / landfill. For example, our large double-ended steel bath cost us £10 due to a small defect in the enamelling which is barely visible when empty and definitely invisible when you're sat in it!
3. LOW FLUSH TOILETS ££
The toilet pans that we have installed are designed to work with a lower flush volume. These are supplied by a traditional style of lever operated cistern that has a delayed refill. These typically use around 60% less water to flush than a conventional cistern, reducing costs if you are on a metered supply and also reducing the amount of water feeding into the sewage system. They are also easier to maintain than some types of push button, dual flush cisterns.
The toilet pans that we have installed are designed to work with a lower flush volume. These are supplied by a traditional style of lever operated cistern that has a delayed refill. These typically use around 60% less water to flush than a conventional cistern, reducing costs if you are on a metered supply and also reducing the amount of water feeding into the sewage system. They are also easier to maintain than some types of push button, dual flush cisterns.
|
4. TRIPLE / QUADRUPLE GLAZING £££
Although the existing windows had been double-glazed, these were all old upvc units that were starting to show their age and weren't in keeping with the style of the house. All the doors and windows were replaced with timber framed, triple-glazed units and the roof lights are quadruple-glazed. Timber frames on high performance windows and doors are typically more insulating than other frame materials as timber is a good insulator on its own, plus they allow for the inclusion of good thermal breaks. They are also often pre-finished so require little / no maintenance for several years. |
New triple glazed Kitchen window and back door.
|
|
5. INTERNAL / EXTERNAL INSULATION ££££
The whole house has had high levels of insulation added throughout. External wall insulation has been applied throughout, which helped to tie together the old and new bits. Additional internal insulation has been used in most of the original house to further boost the performance of the solid brick walls. We've also included a lot of insulation in the roof and under the floors. Wherever possible we have tried to use natural materials such as sheep's wool / hemp insulation on internal walls and recycled newspaper fibre between floor joists. |
External insulation being installed.
|
|
6. WHOLE HOUSE VENTILATION AND HEAT RECOVERY ££££
Throughout the build process every effort was made to make the building as airtight as possible. The house is now ventilated using an MVHR system which means that all the incoming 'fresh' air is warmed by outgoing 'stale' air so much less heat is lost to ventilation. The incoming air is also filtered to remove particulates and pollen - great when you live on a main road and you suffer from hay fever. The filters are changed every 4 months and are usually black with dirt. We have also fitted an external letter / parcel box. A letterbox (or cat flap) is a massive hole in any house and can let a lot of heat escape! |
One clean and 3 dirty MVHR filters. The primary incoming filter is for large particles and the secondary one is for fine particles.
|
|
7. UNDERFLOOR HEATING ££££
We decided early on in the design process to incorporate underfloor heating throughout. This required a lot of upheaval within the existing house as all the floors, including the joists had to be replaced but after over 100 years of alterations for plumbing and wiring they were in a pretty bad state to start with, so it wasn't such a loss. Underfloor heating generally gives a much more even temperature across the whole room. The system also runs at a much lower temperature than a traditional radiator system, so puts less pressure on the boiler. The new system also allows for much better control with each room having its own thermostat controlled via an app. |
Underfloor heating manifold and pipework ready to be screeded.
|
|
8. PELLET BOILER ££££
The house originally had a small condensing gas boiler. The high levels of insulation we've used together with the underfloor heating meant that this was still big enough to work for the much extended house. We have now replaced this boiler with a pellet boiler in the cellar / plant room. This runs on pellets that are produced in the UK using waste timber from the forestry industry. |
Pellet boiler.
|
|
9. SOLAR HOT WATER / THERMAL STORE ££££
We installed evacuated tube solar panels on the house roof. This, along with the pellet boiler, feeds into a highly insulated 1000L thermal store in the plant room. All the heating & hot water comes from this tank. For 7-8months of the year the majority of our hot water needs are met purely from the solar panels. A similar system to ours was installed in the Princess Elisabeth Antarctic Research Station, so we thought it would probably work for us too! |
Thermal Store and associated pipework in the cellar.
|
|
10. CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS ££££
Throughout the extension / refurbishment of our house we have tried wherever possible to use materials that are more 'eco'. This may mean using reclaimed materials - we reused as many roof slates from the original house as possible and any additional slates are reclaimed Welsh slate rather than new slate, typically from Spain or China. Some materials use waste from other industries - the concrete blocks used in the cellar are made using a high proportion of recycled aggregate; instead of plasterboard we used 'Fermacell', a board material made from recycled gypsum and post-consumer waste paper. Other materials have a lower embodied energy - We used 'Porotherm' clay blocks for the main house walls. These are made from clay which is fired to produce a very thermally efficient block which uses much less water in the construction process than typical blockwork and is also completely recyclable at end of life. In addition we have tried to minimise the amount of waste going to landfill. All the bricks and stone from demolished walls have been used for landscaping, either in our garden or a friend's. |
Porotherm blockwork - ‘LEGO’ for big kids!
|
|
BENEFITS
Due to the energy-efficiency measures we have incorporated the whole environment within the house is much pleasanter. The house stays at a fairly constant temperature of around 20ºC for most of the year. It never gets too cold in the winter and rarely gets too hot in the summer. An unexpected benefit is that the house is also much quieter than before, something that we really appreciate on Wollaton Road. Our energy bills have changed drastically since we started this project. We no longer have a gas supply in the house. Our electricity usage has increased due largely to changing to an induction hob & electric oven for cooking. This is offset by having an electricity supplier that generates 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. Our annual cost for heating and hot water combined is around £400 (at 2025 prices). The whole house is now much easier to manage as most systems are controlled by an app. |
A year's supply of pellets.
|
|
PROBLEMS / LESSONS LEARNED
If you're going to embark on a project like ours you really need to get a good architect with a lot of experience in the 'eco' field involved right from the start. Without our architect's input, I'm sure we'd have ended up with a nice house but one that required much more heating but also over heated much more in the summer too. He was also able to point us in the direction of other experts who were able to advise / design the systems for us (MVHR / underfloor heating / solar hot water etc.) He also had a very good knowledge of the more 'eco' materials that are available. Doing a complete self-build such as ours takes MUCH more time than getting someone in to do it for you. This is not for everyone! It worked for us. It has meant that we now have a much better understanding of how all the systems in our house work and how everything is put together. Now, if something should go wrong, we are more likely to know what the problem is and how to go about fixing it. The extended time scale also allowed us to shop around much more, particularly helpful when looking for fixtures and fittings (see 2.) |
MVHR system.
|
FUTURE WORK PLANNED
We currently have a solar PV system that was installed 12 years ago on our garage at the end of the garden. This has recently been totally overshadowed by a development on the neighbouring plot. Unfortunately, as the planning regulations currently stand, we have no rights to light for the PV system and so will need to look into relocating this to a different part of the garden.
Alongside the PV system we intend to install a 19kWh battery storage system. This will mean that we can charge the batteries overnight using cheap-rate electricity and then power the house for most of the day from the batteries. Not only will this save us money in the long run but it helps the electricity suppliers by smoothing out the daily demand for electricity across the wider grid. A further advantage for us is that it will also provide an electrical backup for key systems (heating & hot water) in the event of a power failure, something that is a potential problem for many households as we move away from using gas in the home.
As part of the redevelopment work we replaced a blocked rainwater drain with a soakaway and have included 2 others around the house. As we move on to sorting out the garden we will be adding in approximately 4500L of rainwater harvesting to both the house and garage. This will mean that we have water where we need it around the garden. In addition the surge into the sewer system from storms is reduced and less effluent is discharged into water courses.
We currently have a solar PV system that was installed 12 years ago on our garage at the end of the garden. This has recently been totally overshadowed by a development on the neighbouring plot. Unfortunately, as the planning regulations currently stand, we have no rights to light for the PV system and so will need to look into relocating this to a different part of the garden.
Alongside the PV system we intend to install a 19kWh battery storage system. This will mean that we can charge the batteries overnight using cheap-rate electricity and then power the house for most of the day from the batteries. Not only will this save us money in the long run but it helps the electricity suppliers by smoothing out the daily demand for electricity across the wider grid. A further advantage for us is that it will also provide an electrical backup for key systems (heating & hot water) in the event of a power failure, something that is a potential problem for many households as we move away from using gas in the home.
As part of the redevelopment work we replaced a blocked rainwater drain with a soakaway and have included 2 others around the house. As we move on to sorting out the garden we will be adding in approximately 4500L of rainwater harvesting to both the house and garage. This will mean that we have water where we need it around the garden. In addition the surge into the sewer system from storms is reduced and less effluent is discharged into water courses.
Disclaimer: Please note that EcoTrail-NG9 aims to provide information as accurately as possible but the information on this page has been provided by the property owner.
