Colin Usher, an architect in West Kirby, has won an award for the most energy efficient home in Britain. Whilst it looks like any other house, it only costs an astonishing \u00c2\u00a315 a year to run.<\/p>\n
The four bedroom detached house, which was designed in such a way that it has an even temperature all year round, uses insulated concrete and a futuristic heat pump which converts the outside air into heat that warms the house. There are also solar panels on the roof of the building that keep electricity bills to a bare minimum.<\/p>\n
Mr Usher, director at John McCall Architects, won the award at the 2015 Buildings and Energy Efficiency Awards under the ‘Domestic New Build Category’.<\/p>\n
Amazingly, the total building costs for the house were just \u00c2\u00a3440,500 – including purchasing the land and the demolition of the property that was there before. This is similar to the average market price of four bedroom properties in the West Kirby area.<\/p>\n
The architect said:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have always had a real curiosity in energy efficiency, and building this house has given me a great opportunity to test out a few of my theories. All the risks that have been taken to make this happen have definitely paid off\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n He goes on to explain:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This building contradicts the myths that an economically fuelled home is expensive and looks different to other non-economical houses. My energy-saving methods have not made my house look or feel any less homely or comfortable.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n Mr Usher has expressed how proud he is of the technical aspects of his house, which is more or less air tight sealed, with pumps and an ingenious design used to keep fresh air circulating throughout.<\/p>\n Some of the major components of the house have been listed below: When asked if he is happy with the results of his home, Usher stated:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am very pleased with the results, I suppose you could say that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been working towards for my whole career. The house is beautiful, it has superb high ceilings and very spacious, big rooms. Everyone that has come to visit me so far has said that it is lovely and warm inside.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n This just goes to prove that not all ECO home options are expensive – perhaps it’s time for more people to take note and try a few ideas of their own?<\/p>\n PE\/SRJ \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 www.propertysurveying.co.uk \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 07\/12\/15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The concrete that the building is made of retains heat so that when the heating isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t on, the house loses just one degree of heat per day
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The building has a clever air-to-water heat pump that produces hot water
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The water from this resourceful pump also heats the floor
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 There is a remarkable level of insulation throughout the house, wrapping around all of the window and door frames
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The windows are triple glazed
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 There is a ventilation system in the building that cleverly draws the warm moist air out of the bathrooms, kitchen and utility room, whilst also blowing fresh air into all of the living spaces throughout
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The house is designed so that the ground floor rooms are tall, which means that the warm air rises to warm up the floors upstairs
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Usher built the solar panels facing south so that they generate 3,338kW hours\/year<\/p>\n