Some final thoughts and tributes

The oak around the house is beginning to mellow and the surrounding landscape is slowly maturing. The grass - all sown from seed - is also improving, though thistles and docks are also doing well! We've planted another 15 trees - a mix of oak, ash and alder and sown wild flowers around the completed pond which is already attracting some gorgeous dragonflies and the occasional heron. The two rustic seats in the foreground were made from the old cypress taken down at the start of the build.  Our bird count is now in the low 20s with heron, barn owl, little owl (resident), sparrowhawk and woodpecker taking pride of place. Several insect 'hotels' are being well-used but are also supplying food for the woodpecker. 

The house is proving to be negative energy (no - the one announced yesterday on the BBC was not the first!). Last week the PV panels celebrated their 4th birthday and showed 39,170 kW on the meter - and have generated more each year (10,313 this year). We have used just under 26,000kW since we moved on site indicating a surplus of 13,000 kW which has gone back to the grid. From an economic standpoint the installation has already paid back well over half the initial cost in just four years. The potential for storing 'spare' solar generated electricity is developing fast and this is a technology we are watching with interest.

The solar thermal system is working well and provides all the hot water we need for around 7 months of the year and very useful base heat all-year round.  Even in mid winter the water in the thermal store rarely drops below 25 degrees C. Unfortunately the powers that be have decided that our system does not qualify for the Renewable Heat Incentive as some of the heat generated by the evacuated tubes helps to heat the house - not just the domestic hot water. Large thermal stores (ours is 800 litres) are widely recognised as the most efficient way of optimising solar heat but the regulations say that they must only contribute to hot water - not space heating. So if you are planning a new build, think carefully about using a thermal store. It may be the most efficient system, but OFGEM doesn't recognise this and you won't get any RHI payments.

Reclaiming the VAT was a time consuming process putting all the receipts in chronological order and making a matching spreadshett to meet VAT specifications. There are never enough hours in the day during the build but doing the VAT monthly as the build progressed would have made it much less arduous at the end. In my view HM Customs were prompt and fair despite what others have said.  

Our old VW Golf worked hard moving goods around during the build (still running on 100% biofuel) but we decided that at 15 yrs old it might prove expensive at the next MOT, so decided it was time to change using the VAT refund. We had been watching the development of the electric car market for some time and after much thought, decided that a plug-in hybrid would best suit our requirements. We found a demonstration Prius plug-in at an attractive price with only 1300 miles on the clock and have now run this for nearly a year. Technically it only does 16 miles on a charge and it would be nice if it did more like the Audio, VW and Mitsubishi which have arrived since.  However in practice I think it was a sensible choice. Most of the time we charge it for free from spare solar (charging time is just over an hour and a half) and on dark winter days, we charge at night on off-peak. We rarely get less than 80 mpg equivalent - even on long journeys - and the speedo is currently showing the last 750 miles at 142 mpg.

Winner - Best Sustainable Dwelling 2015

One pleasant surprise was to learn that our Building Control Inspector had recommended the house for a special award. On 17 April we were invited to an Awards lunch in Stratford and Colemans Hill Farm was announced as the winner of the best new sustainable dwelling 2015 - a fitting tribute to three years of very long days and some sleepless nights!

It is also a fitting tribute to all those who contributed to the build - some of whom went way beyond the usual service you would expect from contractors. 

A big thank you to:

Winchcombe Reclamation

who carefully removed the old farmhouse

Pete Tonks
for designing the new one

Jay Hubbard and Robin Vincent of English Brothers
for supplying the timber frame & their constant support

Phil of Eazylay Concrete at Admington

who delivered and poured seemingly endless cement, often out of hours

Jason Watts and the Forest of Dean 'hemcreters'

who installed the hemcrete under monsoon conditions

who installed the PV and solar thermal

Martin and Stuart Turville

who laid the bricks

Ben of JBM Scaffoldingfor erecting the scaffolding at short notice

Built Environment Technology
who installed the MVHR system

Elliot Atkinson and his friendly team from Black Pig

who glazed more than 50 fixed windows

Frank Horsfall of Calarel Ltd
who made the triple glazed oak doors and windows

John Devine
who painted them

Bernard Prickett Joinery

who made the oak staircases

Clint Parker
for the electrics

Solar-Sense UK
for the PV and solar heating system

Mario the Plumber

who meticulously laid the kitchen floor and bathroom tiles

Chris Hurley

who helped with the foundations and installed the wood stove

Martin Bennett, Head of Stratford District Council Building Control

for constantly monitoring the build and his helpful advice

Charlie and his team from Cotswold Green Energy

for the UFH, the plumbing and the EcoAngus boiler
and their marvellous support throughout the build

Steve and Debbie Savery (& son)

for their patience, impeccable carpentry and painting skills

Peter Boait of Exergy Devices

who generously designed and installed
the intelligent energy management system

and above all

Nigel Brookes

who after selling us his mobile home, ended up as our constant mentor
for his skills preparing the foundations, installing the passive slab

the complex drainage system, the rainwater harvesting, making the pond

and landscaping the entire site.

We could not have completed this build without him.

markandsonia@gmail.com  01386 438572  07776 036884

Mark Boulton  July 2015