The Times: We renovated our home and cut our energy bills to zero

Although the energy price cap has gone up this week, our Mid Terrace Dream client would have been safe in the knowledge that the price rise wouldn’t affect them. Martina Lees at The Times visited them to talk about the deep retrofit of their home, and how it has cut their energy bills to zero.

Our clients – Henrik and Inbar – bought a run down terraced house. It needed modernising, but they also wanted more space to bring up a family and host their own parents. They wanted something that would last, and would reflect their own taste and culture.

During early stage conversations with Siri, we realised that there was an opportunity to do something really powerful. Together, we embarked on a deep retrofit of the house. Through careful craftsmanship – insulating the house and making it airtight – and adding an air source heat pump (ASHP) and Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery ( MHVR) along with solar panels,  their home is now high performing, and uses very little energy. In fact, the solar panels create more energy than the house uses. Martina reports that “In the first 11 months of 2024, 11 solar panels on their roof generated 3.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, while they consumed 2.6MWh”. Last year their energy bills were cut to zero. In fact,  Henrik and Inbar received a £69 rebate from their supplier for energy supplied back to the national grid.

It is the combination of the insulation and the air tight layer that keeps the heat in. Much like wearing a waterproof with a woolly jumper, the airtight layer stops wind from blowing through the house.  The MVHR is vital to keep the house well ventilated, and prevent damp, mould and condensation.  In addition, the MVHR filters the air coming into the home, removing pollutants and pollen and resulting in a much healthier, more comfortable home that is cheap to run.

We are passionate about the power of retrofit to improve the energy efficiency of homes, but also people’s lives. Mid Terrace Dream is a great example of how an ordinary London home can benefit.

Read the full article by Martina Lees in The Times here