victorian refurbishment

This Victorian house in Nottingham is the most advanced eco-retrofit in the UK. It’s taken Penney Poyzer and Gil Schalom seven and half years so far (and work continues) mostly working from the inside out.

Improvements include extensive fabric insulation, including triple glazing, solid wall insulation and 400mm think roof insulation using shredded newspapers. Hot water is delivered using a flat plate solar thermal system, and they have recently installed a wood-fired boiler in the cellar, supported by sophisticated controls so that it can be used optimally.

The house has extensive rainwater recycling and a composting sewage system, and the garden is used to grow food using the principles of permaculture.

Penney and Gil also hope to be early adopters of the micro-wind turbines now much promised for the UK – probably one on each chimney with 1m diameter each. There are many more details and the full story on their web site.