Ecovation

Typically over the winter we use approx. 5 bags of smokeless coal and a third of a pick up truck of logs to fuel the central heating. Our Eucalyptus tree peels its bark in autumn which we use as firelighters.

The solar panel runs on any sunny day reducing electric needs. In the summer water in our kitchen and utility room is nearly 100% solar heated.

Using cheap rate electric and storage heating reduces energy bills.

We installed a water meter and watched our water bills fall.

Heating and Power

Originally there was no gas or electricity; each room had a fire place for heating. There’s evidence of gas being fitted throughout the building for lighting and cooking (now redundant). There was only electric bar heaters in a couple of rooms when we move in.

We installed phase III electrics as the main power source for lighting, cooking and additional heating. After we rebuilt and relined the chimney stack, we installed a multifuel stove with back boiler to run the central heating. This mix and match system takes advantage of a cheap wood supply and potential opportunities to use photovoltaic systems for heating later.

Water is heated by a Solar Twin solar panel and cheap rate electricity. We bought a hot water feed washing machine to take advantage of the solar heated water and put a shower off our utility room for the same reason. The immersion heater is fed by the solar panel and its position in the utility room was designed to give the shortest water runs to the kitchen, utility and shower areas.

We didn’t install spot lights as these tend to be less energy efficient and their position in the ceiling leads to heat evacuation and waste. 99% of light bulbs in the property are low energy.

We’ve installed a Sunpipe into our top floor shower room as it has no window. This room is in frequent use and the Sunpipe is a great help in reducing electricity use.

We were careful to pick and use energy efficient appliances and frequently use their timers to take advantage of cheap rate electricity periods. This keeps our costs down but also reduces demand for electricity in the island.

Water and Sewage

The original water supply, in the form of a well, is still in the garden (securely covered over). The property is now on mains water and sewerage. However, grey water from the kitchen and utility room can be diverted to the garden for use. Rain water is collected in a large storage tank and the well for use in the garden. There were no internal bathrooms. Due to the layout and size of the rooms it was easier, and more functional to modern living, to install ensuite shower rooms. We chose to use showers rather than baths to decrease water use. As our aim was to recycle and reuse, we converted the toilets to dual flush through adaptors brought for £11 from a hardware shop.

The kitchen has been ergonomic designed to ensure the most upright and appropriate posture and positioning during food preparation, washing dishes etc. The catering size stainless steel sink facilitates good hygiene and management of dishes. We have installed a Franke Tri-flow filtration system to the water.

Insulation

Insulation, insulation, insulation has been the by-word and last word of this renovation. The building was draughty, cold and damp when we moved in. Our priority was to ensure any heat used was kept within the building. In the ceiling and floor cavities of the first and second floors we pumped in Warmcel. The best money we ever spent.

To combat any damp penetration in the walls and increase the property’s U-value we put Sempatap on the ‘interior’ of all exterior walls. Even more money well spent.

The wonderful wooden floors have been covered with felt insulation and natural fibre carpets in the interests of heat retention and all curtains are interlined. The shower rooms and kitchen have Sempatap (Mould Growth Consultants) floor covering, for sound and heat insulation, with cork tiles and natural wax finish.

Secondary double glazing has been added to all north facing original windows giving increased sound and heat insulation.

There’s a natural air flow through the house. We now have windows that open and electric extraction fans in the kitchen and shower rooms. We’ve been diligent in ensuring doors and windows are well fitted. The house is draught free but has a steady air flow through it, preventing condensation build up while retaining heat. The structure of the house ‘breathes’. This all makes for a pleasant healthy internal environment.

Kitchen

The kitchen has been installed in the original extension where it would have initially been.

It is on the east facing and therefore coolest part of the building thus originally aiding in food storage, ensuring comfort when preparing food etc. We have opened up the ceiling to allow natural ventilation lining the re-laid roof with solid cedar running over the original beams, retained the original fireplace and granite walls as a feature. The kitchen has been ergonomically designed to ensure the most upright and appropriate posture and positioning during food preparation, washing dishes etc. The catering sink facilitates good hygiene and management of dishes.

Land/Garden

The garden was an important part of our vision for the property to be sustainable and lowering our carbon footprints. We wanted to grow native trees, to encourage wildlife, and food for our own use. It was pretty bare of plants when we bought it, just a concrete path and grass with a large eucalyptus tree and an old apple tree. It’s an enclosed garden and the granite walls needed rebuilding in some parts. During the renovation it was further degraded as a building site. Due to work on the walls the apple tree died.

It has taken us three years to renovate the garden. The old apple tree has been left as a habitat for insects and birds. We have laid zones to accommodate the various needs of us and wildlife according to permaculture principles. We have several compost bins and all garden and kitchen waste gets processed and used in the garden.

We believe ours is the last large private garden in the town. Our personal belief is that land should be used to accommodate people and wildlife and grow their food not house cars. Due to neighbouring boundaries access into it is restricted and to-date this has saved it from development. We see ourselves as custodians of this rare resource and hope it will forever remain a sacred space.

We don’t use chemicals at all and have planted fruit and native trees as a way of encouraging wildlife. The old lintels and wood from the building works have been put out as beetle/insect habitats. We foster disabled hedgehogs and have placed bird boxes around the buildings. There’s a pair of resident magpies and collared doves in the eucalyptus. The garden is visited by bats in the summer.

Utility Room / Workshop

Where there was once a coal store we used recycled bricks and built a utility room and a shower room.

Next to the kitchen was a coal store and shed. We removed this and built a new utility room and shower room using recycled bricks but with modern standards of building i.e. damp proof coursing. The positioning of the immersion heater in the utility room was designed to give the shortest water runs to the kitchen and sinks in the utility area. This immersion heater is fed by the solar panel and for most of the year the water for the kitchen and utility is heated by this. The shower in this area is used when there are no guests in the main house negating the need to put the electric immersion heater on to serve their shower rooms.

Recommended Products

All decoration at the property was done using eco-friendly paints, glues and varnishes making the interior both aesthetically beautiful and healthy. Having used Auro paint 321, the property attained the ‘Journal for Medically Sound lodgings Certificate of Approval.’

Sempatap from Mould Growth Consultants Limited - Sempatap is a breathable material made from natural latex from sustainable sources and is absolutely fantastic stuff. It really works if you have any damp issues look at using this product. We have no damp due to Sempatap.

Warmcel Insulation - is made of recycled paper – it was good, works and was inexpensive. You needed holes for pumping it in and it’s not so good in vertical spaces. We don’t know if it’s better than other natural insulators - probably all have their place.

Nutshell Paint emulsion paint is great and the company is good at sending stuff out. The only downside we found mixing the pigments tricky.

Auro was also OK for emulsion, but we didn’t find their wood paint that great. You needed primer, undercoat, top coat etc. and over old paint it yellowed. Also if you covered any painted part, say on a mantelpiece, with an ornament it discoloured underneath.

Osmo's wood products range was excellent, as was their natural glues and resins. Their wood filler is marvellous. Three years on the new windows look like they were painted yesterday! You only need the one type of paint, two coats and you’re done. It has also worked well over old paint.

We used Keim Mineral Paints on the outside of the house – it has worked OK however best used direct on stone not previous paint.

Natural cork tiles are inexpensive, flexible, warm, easily replaced and from a sustainable source. We love them and so does anyone who walks on them. No need for underfloor heating!

Low Carbon Lifestyle

Living in the heart of town eliminates the need for a car. Fortunately Jersey hasn’t got the hypermarket or ‘mall’ syndrome that has destroyed towns and villages in the UK. The town of St Helier retains its integrity, shops and character. Everything we could need or want is right on our doorstep we walk to work, to shop, to any entertainments etc. Being on the flat we’ve taken up cycling again and regularly whiz down to the beach or up into the countryside. Living at Warwick House has definitely freed us from the tyranny of the car and helped us get fit. We can’t help feeling a bit smug when we walk to the market in the morning for coffee and croissants before work and see everyone stuck in traffic queues and fighting for parking spaces!

We buy food locally from an Organic Farm work scheme, make a lot of home made produce, we buy seasonal foods to avoid buying things flow in from across the world. Generally we question every purchase with a ‘do we really need it?’

Jersey sources its electricity from the French Nuclear system and supports it with a coal fired power station. Most people in Jersey use oil fired central heating, electric storage heating or use gas (that is made from the burning of oil.) The choice we’ve made, to use a dual fuel heating system, is the ‘greenest’ given the local resources. There are no green electricity companies in Jersey.

We try and use the ferry to France or England rather than fly when we leave the Island – unfortunately you can’t swim the English Channel! There are no trains or trams in Jersey. In the three years of running the B&B we’re proud to say none of our guests have brought their car to the Island or hired one while here. All have used the buses, walked or hired bicycles.

Top Tips

Find a local auction house that deals with everything and use that to source materials. Advertise for what you want it’s amazing what you’ll find or get given.

Be ready to take advantage of sales and store things until they’re needed. Don’t be hung up on the latest fashions. Last years goods are definitely in-fashion if they come half price and even more so if your usage stops them being dumped.

Keep on top of your budget. Don’t let your workmen over order materials; this is typical on a building site. Don’t get focused on one thing to the detriment of another. Remember that lovely bathroom suite could mean you don’t have money left for carpets at the end.

Don’t let your workmen tell you to use a particular product as if it is a statutory requirement. Look into it. Also they might have a contract with a particular supplier and want to use their products not because it’s the best thing to use or the cheapest. Know your facts and stand your ground.

Get a written contract with anyone doing work for you. Know timescales, who is to do what, by when and for how much. Discuss and include in the contract what will happen if things go wrong.

Design everything carefully beforehand. Do loads of preparation work and stick to your plan. Make sure everyone knows what they are doing and when they should be doing it.


	Early nineteenth century town house
	We bought Warwick House in 2003. Structurally it was fairly sound but needed a complete overhaul: new electrics, plumbing, central heating, kitchen/bathrooms installed, chimneys rebuilt, drains, re-plastering, damp proofing, windows/doors, decoration etc. etc. Fortunately it hadn’t gone through any ‘modern renovations’, apart from an extension in 1967, so what we were dealing with was pretty much the original structure. It was important to us to be sympathetic to its heritage nature. We wanted to use natural complimentary materials, while retaining and replacing its unique character. We endeavoured to go beyond modern standards to make it versatile and adaptable to changes in the future. It’s in every sense a ‘transition’ house based on permaculture principles of sustainability. The renovation took nearly two years Vital Statistics Warwick House is a substantial terrace house built around 1810 located in a quiet street of the capital of Jersey, St Helier.	Latest case studies: Retrofitting of a Detached bungalow Church cottage in Wooten Brick- built family home in Oxford Eco- improvements to 1960's house in Wantage Renovated 1958 Semi- detached House: The Adventures of an Elderly (and very determined) Ecovator

	Originally it was the main building in the area and stood alone as a small holding surrounded by orchards. With a fascinating and varied history it’s now a wonderful family home which we partly run as a vegetarian organic bed and breakfast. It has four bedrooms, three reception rooms, kitchen, utility, four shower rooms (two ensuite), study, workshop, shed, outhouse and 100’ walled garden. Typical of traditional Jersey properties it’s South/North facing to maximise solar gains. It’s made of single block stone - granite/brick with natural earth based mortar, which acts like a solar heat sink. It has solid brick with lathe/plaster internal walls. The original clay roof tiles on the main house were replaced with replica concrete ones about 15 years ago. The new kitchen roof uses recycled clay pantiles and slate. The property has passed planning permission for a large extension in the garden. This extension is planned to be built natural materials, wood, wool insulation etc. to a low energy spec. It will have photovoltaic tiles, roof garden and ‘solar lantern’ as mediation/quiet space. Annual Energy Use Typically over the winter we use approx. 5 bags of smokeless coal and a third of a pick up truck of logs to fuel the central heating. Our Eucalyptus tree peels its bark in autumn which we use as firelighters. The solar panel runs on any sunny day reducing electric needs. In the summer water in our kitchen and utility room is nearly 100% solar heated. Using cheap rate electric and storage heating reduces energy bills. We installed a water meter and watched our water bills fall. About us and why we did it When we returned to Jersey we wanted a home that reduced our carbon footprint and was versatile and adaptable to the inevitable changes that will occur through climate change and peak oil. We like old buildings and believe these should be ‘recycled’ and retrofitted in preference to new builds. We wanted a property that could enable us to be sustainable in the broadest sense, including not being dependent on paid employment. Being in the Heart of St Helier with a large garden, Warwick House meant we could grow our own food, have our own business, and do away with running a car. We have become more self reliant and self sufficient and less stressed as a result. We opened the house to guests three years ago, we wanted to promote sustainable living and vegetarianism and give people the opportunity to see the lifestyle for themselves and what could be achieved. Email: Paul on Functionallives (at) mac.com Heating and Power Originally there was no gas or electricity; each room had a fire place for heating. There’s evidence of gas being fitted throughout the building for lighting and cooking (now redundant). There was only electric bar heaters in a couple of rooms when we move in. We installed phase III electrics as the main power source for lighting, cooking and additional heating. After we rebuilt and relined the chimney stack, we installed a multifuel stove with back boiler to run the central heating. This mix and match system takes advantage of a cheap wood supply and potential opportunities to use photovoltaic systems for heating later. Water is heated by a Solar Twin solar panel and cheap rate electricity. We bought a hot water feed washing machine to take advantage of the solar heated water and put a shower off our utility room for the same reason. The immersion heater is fed by the solar panel and its position in the utility room was designed to give the shortest water runs to the kitchen, utility and shower areas. We didn’t install spot lights as these tend to be less energy efficient and their position in the ceiling leads to heat evacuation and waste. 99% of light bulbs in the property are low energy. We’ve installed a Sunpipe into our top floor shower room as it has no window. This room is in frequent use and the Sunpipe is a great help in reducing electricity use. We were careful to pick and use energy efficient appliances and frequently use their timers to take advantage of cheap rate electricity periods. This keeps our costs down but also reduces demand for electricity in the island. Water and Sewage The original water supply, in the form of a well, is still in the garden (securely covered over). The property is now on mains water and sewerage. However, grey water from the kitchen and utility room can be diverted to the garden for use. Rain water is collected in a large storage tank and the well for use in the garden. There were no internal bathrooms. Due to the layout and size of the rooms it was easier, and more functional to modern living, to install ensuite shower rooms. We chose to use showers rather than baths to decrease water use. As our aim was to recycle and reuse, we converted the toilets to dual flush through adaptors brought for £11 from a hardware shop. The kitchen has been ergonomic designed to ensure the most upright and appropriate posture and positioning during food preparation, washing dishes etc. The catering size stainless steel sink facilitates good hygiene and management of dishes. We have installed a Franke Tri-flow filtration system to the water. Insulation Insulation, insulation, insulation has been the by-word and last word of this renovation. The building was draughty, cold and damp when we moved in. Our priority was to ensure any heat used was kept within the building. In the ceiling and floor cavities of the first and second floors we pumped in Warmcel. The best money we ever spent. To combat any damp penetration in the walls and increase the property’s U-value we put Sempatap on the ‘interior’ of all exterior walls. Even more money well spent. The wonderful wooden floors have been covered with felt insulation and natural fibre carpets in the interests of heat retention and all curtains are interlined. The shower rooms and kitchen have Sempatap (Mould Growth Consultants) floor covering, for sound and heat insulation, with cork tiles and natural wax finish. Secondary double glazing has been added to all north facing original windows giving increased sound and heat insulation. There’s a natural air flow through the house. We now have windows that open and electric extraction fans in the kitchen and shower rooms. We’ve been diligent in ensuring doors and windows are well fitted. The house is draught free but has a steady air flow through it, preventing condensation build up while retaining heat. The structure of the house ‘breathes’. This all makes for a pleasant healthy internal environment. Kitchen The kitchen has been installed in the original extension where it would have initially been. It is on the east facing and therefore coolest part of the building thus originally aiding in food storage, ensuring comfort when preparing food etc. We have opened up the ceiling to allow natural ventilation lining the re-laid roof with solid cedar running over the original beams, retained the original fireplace and granite walls as a feature. The kitchen has been ergonomically designed to ensure the most upright and appropriate posture and positioning during food preparation, washing dishes etc. The catering sink facilitates good hygiene and management of dishes. Land/Garden The garden was an important part of our vision for the property to be sustainable and lowering our carbon footprints. We wanted to grow native trees, to encourage wildlife, and food for our own use. It was pretty bare of plants when we bought it, just a concrete path and grass with a large eucalyptus tree and an old apple tree. It’s an enclosed garden and the granite walls needed rebuilding in some parts. During the renovation it was further degraded as a building site. Due to work on the walls the apple tree died. It has taken us three years to renovate the garden. The old apple tree has been left as a habitat for insects and birds. We have laid zones to accommodate the various needs of us and wildlife according to permaculture principles. We have several compost bins and all garden and kitchen waste gets processed and used in the garden. We believe ours is the last large private garden in the town. Our personal belief is that land should be used to accommodate people and wildlife and grow their food not house cars. Due to neighbouring boundaries access into it is restricted and to-date this has saved it from development. We see ourselves as custodians of this rare resource and hope it will forever remain a sacred space. We don’t use chemicals at all and have planted fruit and native trees as a way of encouraging wildlife. The old lintels and wood from the building works have been put out as beetle/insect habitats. We foster disabled hedgehogs and have placed bird boxes around the buildings. There’s a pair of resident magpies and collared doves in the eucalyptus. The garden is visited by bats in the summer. Utility Room / Workshop Where there was once a coal store we used recycled bricks and built a utility room and a shower room. Next to the kitchen was a coal store and shed. We removed this and built a new utility room and shower room using recycled bricks but with modern standards of building i.e. damp proof coursing. The positioning of the immersion heater in the utility room was designed to give the shortest water runs to the kitchen and sinks in the utility area. This immersion heater is fed by the solar panel and for most of the year the water for the kitchen and utility is heated by this. The shower in this area is used when there are no guests in the main house negating the need to put the electric immersion heater on to serve their shower rooms. Recommended Products All decoration at the property was done using eco-friendly paints, glues and varnishes making the interior both aesthetically beautiful and healthy. Having used Auro paint 321, the property attained the ‘Journal for Medically Sound lodgings Certificate of Approval.’ Sempatap from Mould Growth Consultants Limited - Sempatap is a breathable material made from natural latex from sustainable sources and is absolutely fantastic stuff. It really works if you have any damp issues look at using this product. We have no damp due to Sempatap. Warmcel Insulation - is made of recycled paper – it was good, works and was inexpensive. You needed holes for pumping it in and it’s not so good in vertical spaces. We don’t know if it’s better than other natural insulators - probably all have their place. Nutshell Paint emulsion paint is great and the company is good at sending stuff out. The only downside we found mixing the pigments tricky. Auro was also OK for emulsion, but we didn’t find their wood paint that great. You needed primer, undercoat, top coat etc. and over old paint it yellowed. Also if you covered any painted part, say on a mantelpiece, with an ornament it discoloured underneath. Osmo's wood products range was excellent, as was their natural glues and resins. Their wood filler is marvellous. Three years on the new windows look like they were painted yesterday! You only need the one type of paint, two coats and you’re done. It has also worked well over old paint. We used Keim Mineral Paints on the outside of the house – it has worked OK however best used direct on stone not previous paint. Natural cork tiles are inexpensive, flexible, warm, easily replaced and from a sustainable source. We love them and so does anyone who walks on them. No need for underfloor heating! Low Carbon Lifestyle Living in the heart of town eliminates the need for a car. Fortunately Jersey hasn’t got the hypermarket or ‘mall’ syndrome that has destroyed towns and villages in the UK. The town of St Helier retains its integrity, shops and character. Everything we could need or want is right on our doorstep we walk to work, to shop, to any entertainments etc. Being on the flat we’ve taken up cycling again and regularly whiz down to the beach or up into the countryside. Living at Warwick House has definitely freed us from the tyranny of the car and helped us get fit. We can’t help feeling a bit smug when we walk to the market in the morning for coffee and croissants before work and see everyone stuck in traffic queues and fighting for parking spaces! We buy food locally from an Organic Farm work scheme, make a lot of home made produce, we buy seasonal foods to avoid buying things flow in from across the world. Generally we question every purchase with a ‘do we really need it?’ Jersey sources its electricity from the French Nuclear system and supports it with a coal fired power station. Most people in Jersey use oil fired central heating, electric storage heating or use gas (that is made from the burning of oil.) The choice we’ve made, to use a dual fuel heating system, is the ‘greenest’ given the local resources. There are no green electricity companies in Jersey. We try and use the ferry to France or England rather than fly when we leave the Island – unfortunately you can’t swim the English Channel! There are no trains or trams in Jersey. In the three years of running the B&B we’re proud to say none of our guests have brought their car to the Island or hired one while here. All have used the buses, walked or hired bicycles. Top Tips Find a local auction house that deals with everything and use that to source materials. Advertise for what you want it’s amazing what you’ll find or get given. Be ready to take advantage of sales and store things until they’re needed. Don’t be hung up on the latest fashions. Last years goods are definitely in-fashion if they come half price and even more so if your usage stops them being dumped. Keep on top of your budget. Don’t let your workmen over order materials; this is typical on a building site. Don’t get focused on one thing to the detriment of another. Remember that lovely bathroom suite could mean you don’t have money left for carpets at the end. Don’t let your workmen tell you to use a particular product as if it is a statutory requirement. Look into it. Also they might have a contract with a particular supplier and want to use their products not because it’s the best thing to use or the cheapest. Know your facts and stand your ground. Get a written contract with anyone doing work for you. Know timescales, who is to do what, by when and for how much. Discuss and include in the contract what will happen if things go wrong. Design everything carefully beforehand. Do loads of preparation work and stick to your plan. Make sure everyone knows what they are doing and when they should be doing it.
	© Climate Outreach Information Network, 2006-2007 Design - AHG

Annual Energy Use