Will Homoky and Catherine Beswick, the lucky winners of a massive eco refurb on behalf of the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign, finally saw the project completed this weekend. The couple’s Victorian end of terrace house saw a massive £23,000 worth of changes and additions, transforming the energy efficiency of their home.

The house was fitted with the latest energy efficient measures and technology and their home has already increased by £25,000 in value! Loft insulation and fifteen centimetres of thickness was added to interior walls to drastically improve heat retention and also a new double glazing technology was installed. The new double glazing technology used contains argon gas between the layers and helps improve heat retention even further. On top of this, solar panels have been installed on the roof to help power their home and also export some power to the national grid creating an annual income as well as reducing their bills!

Front man of the campaign and the Grand Designs show, Kevin McCloud, said on the campaign:  "It is vital that we cut our carbon emissions and meet these targets - and our homes are the obvious place to start.”

"We need a nationwide programme of green refurbishment that is sensitive to the fantastic diversity of housing types in Britain, and if people can't afford the upfront costs of what will ultimately save them money, then we need to find ways to help to do so.  This is why the Great British Refurb Campaign is so important."

There were over 8000 entrants into the competition and five houses were randomly chosen as winners. The runners up will receive over £5000 worth of eco-refurbishment and the other winners are set to receive a home energy consultation, a thermographic image of their property and a gift pack worth at least £500.

Author:  Thomas Davies

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