Honeysuckle House, Beaminster

 Gill  and Sue  are actively committed to combatting climate change, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and protecting wildlife (Gill is leader of the St Mary’s Church ECO Group, which has achieved gold standard in the international ECO Church movement led by A Rocha).

Their two-level house, built in 1997, rising up a slope, has insulated walls, double glazing and loft insulation, achieving high standards of energy efficiency.  In 2010, they installed 16 solar panels (capacity 3kW) on the south-facing roof of the adjoining barn.  Being quite early in the government scheme of FIT payments, they have by now fully recouped the capital cost of the solar panels. 

The upper part of the house is heated by a gas-fired Aga, and a Norwegian Jotul wood-burning stove using timber from their own woodland.  This year, they installed an air source heat pump on the south side of the lower building, replacing the gas boiler for heating & hot water. The associated tanks are mounted within the cellar of that building.  They are keen vegetable and fruit gardeners, which helps them to ‘live lightly on the land´.  Their grounds include a small wood, sloping down to the river Brit, two ponds and a wildflower area.

To avoid having bonfires, Gillian & Sue have constructed a useful ‘dead hedge’ in their paddock, which consists of unwanted hedge & tree prunings.

They  have recently filled the cavity wall with ThermaBead  insulation.