New Style Old Style???

Mr_Proctalgia

Now I've gone and done it!!! :eek:

After ages I've finally sold the FMH and bought a place for myself for cash. Now I need to really consider my lifestyle options carefully, this new house has nothing in it at all, no CH, no kitchen, no double glazing and about 2 skiploads of rubbish in the back garden. :mad: But it has 3 beds, separate dining room, driveway, and 3 outhouses. I have just about all the "stuff" I will ever need and have some money spare (if such a thing exists) to help with an OS lifestyle - I was thinking about solar heating, greenhouse, water harvesting etc. I tend to like new technology so do you lot have any pointers for me with regard to living cheaply and what would help with a "Starting from Scratch" situation???

Sensible answers on a postcard please..............

lynzpower

Check out your local freecycle!

Someone might want the gear in the skips you cant use, and you might be able to get some sticks of furniture that you need. Whats in those skips? https://www.freecycle.org - avoid the landfill!

Check out the energy savings trust website, to find out what grants might be available towards your solar system. OH was working for DEFRA till recently on home energy conservation. He says that your best bet is to work out what utility provider you will be going with, and have a nose round thier website, or phone & speak to thier energy efficiency officer. Your utilities co will offer a free assessment of your home, in order to offer advice, possibly over the phone. They will probably chuck in a couple of energy efficient lightbulbs. They also MAY be able to give small grants towards energy efficient heating for example. He reckons, you'll definatly get some reduced price loft insulation ( check prices though, you still might be able to get it cheaper elsewhere)

Also to say, I cant remember exactly what the regs are, but you will probably HAVe to have an energy efficient condensing boiler system, not central heating gas fired. Im sure someone else will tell you more about it, but I read a numberof articles in the guardian about it some time ago, so the articles will be on thier webpages.

Id also patch up your guttering if you can in order to make sure you get as much water into your barrells as you can - obvious, but plenty of people dont!

I recently changed my electricity to Ecotricity, which is thoroughly green the only completely renewable co in the uk, cheaper than Npower juice i was on before.

Get an wormery, all your food waste can go in there, and free compost for life!

Great idea, good for you, and cant wait to hear how your getting along!
Lynz

ChocClare

What's the weather like in Nottingham? Unless it's permanently pouring with rain, then solar heating is definitely an option. You can get government grants towards helping with installation, too. We had ours installed seven years ago (and you can get much better ones now, which will power radiators and things) and have never regretted it. Piping hot water for free 9 months of the year - absolutely lava hot in summer. Mind you, there are only about 10 houses between us and France, so our solar panel does get a good blast of sunshine! However, it doesn't have to be hot - bright, cold days are just as good as boiling hot ones.

The other thing we rave about in a hugely boring way to anyone who will listen is our two wood-burning stoves. Again, you can get versions of these that work rather like a Raeburn (back boilers, are they called?) and power radiators and/or hot water. Ours just burn wood, but they kick out so much heat in our otherwise freezing Edwardian house that we don't have to have the heating on - at least, not downstairs. Our house is quite large (7 beds, 3 floors), so this is saying something. It means that when you're home during the day (weekends in Autumn/Winter/Spring) and might otherwise turn the heating on, you need only light the stove. A couple of logs and you're nice and toasty - and all our logs have been free - we're the sad people who go and knock on doors when people are having trees cut down! (You do need to invest in a chainsaw, though.)

If you've no kitchen at all, though, I would have thought that was your first priority, isn't it? You can't cook on a solar panel or a wood burning stove (well, you can, but you'd have to be jolly patient - it takes about three hours to boil a kettle on the top of the stove)!

Mr_Proctalgia

Thanks for the info so far, the situation sounds very similar to ChocClare as I have just sold a 3 story 6 bed house in the better end of town, but due to divorce issues I have had to (obviously) cut my budget a lot, in my home the heating is on 24/7 at a low level and the whole house never used to get cold, I used to pay £73 per month for gas and leccy combined, but, being a tight git all the expensive stuff went on at night on Economy seven. Now I quite fancy "free hot water" and having the chance to grow something.

The bit about the kitchen is possibly a lie as the room exists but is (for me) unusable. I HAVE to have a belfast sink, big fridge, some storage - The current set up is absolutely minging. (But it does have walk in pantry) and I will have to make a new kitchen.

I have all the white/brown and furniture stuff you could imagine but a lot of it is old now and not efficient, my concerns are whether or not it would be cost efficient to change stuff, but I might anyway just because of green issues.

lynzpower

Ah, the eternal trade off of inefficient old appliances that still work, but waste vs landfill...

I never know where I fall on these, but Im tending towards, use them to death and save energy elsewhere then freecycle for parts/art projects whatever!

I fancy this hot water business, Ive always wanted solar panels... sadly I live in a ground floor flat and have no roof... Shame that...

doddsy

Mr P - we will be attending this at the weekend, could have alot of your answers in one place if you can get there! Good luck with the house.


http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/article_default_view.fcm?articleid=11955&subsite=1

squeaky

Mr_Proctalgia wrote:

I was thinking about solar heating, greenhouse, water harvesting etc. I tend to like new technology so do you lot have any pointers for me with regard to living cheaply and what would help with a "Starting from Scratch" situation???

Sensible answers on a postcard please..............

Check out the utilities board, and in particular the Fuel and other Heating sub board.

There's some very interesting and informative threads there.


Fuel and other heating