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Becoming eco-friendly is not just for modern houses At a time when energy bills have been on the up, this local group has done what it can to buck the trend by sharing knowledge and experience of saving and generating energy in the home. In 2010 Transition West Bridgford ran the first Eco House Open Day welcoming nearly 70 people to find out more about eco features in 6 local homes. Subsequently, Transition member, Tina Holt decided to set up the Eco House group and organised further events. At that stage, Tina had just moved into a solid wall 1950’s house with single glazed windows and no insulation of any sort. It was cold and draughty with condensation and mould on windows and walls. Sounds familiar? Like others she needed to know more about her options to make the house a lot more comfortable and healthy for her and her family. She submerged herself in some serious research, acquired a hard hat and became an expert in the field of eco refurbishments, which is useful as now she is able to
share her knowledge with others! Eco House Group members have learned about home energy efficiency improvements through small and large through seminars, open house events and visits to low energy homes during construction and refurbishment. Information is shared through the wbecohouses.co.uk blog which contains case studies from local householders and articles of interest posted or sent in by members of the group. The refurbishment of Tina’s house is almost complete and it is so much more comfortable! Energy monitoring before and after will demonstrate whether the plan to reduce energy use by ~80% has been achieved. (See www.eco-retrofit.blogspot.co.uk for further details) Success in the community has translated into employment as well. In early 2012, Tina went self-employed with a DECC funded project called “Homes Behaving Badly”, The “Homes Behaving Badly” report can be downloaded for free from the HOBBS tab of the
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wbecohouses.co.uk website. The report includes 8 case studies where energy savings have been made (local houses from the 1890’s to the 1980’s) so hopefully there’s one a bit like yours! Now working for the Energy Saving Co-operative, Tina carries out free home energy visits to identify energy saving opportunities in the home. The Energy Saving Co-operative carries out a wide range of energy efficiency home improvements by partnering with trusted local tradespeople who do the work. If you would like a home energy visit, go to www.energysaving.coop , email tina.holt@energysaving.coop or phone 07962 453037. Tina’s own business provides training and consultancy on aspects of low energy new build and refurbishment (e.g. Passivhaus projects), including an introduction to the costs and benefits associated with different levels of whole house refurbishment. If you would like to know more, go to www.ecohousenet.co.uk , email tinaholt@ecohousenet.co.uk or phone 07962 453037. If you would like to join the Eco House Group email list and hear about future events, just email wbecohouses@gmail.com. In November 2012, Rushcliffe Borough Council recognised Tina’s voluntary activities with the award for “Protecting and Enhancing our Environment”.