On 16th May, 7 houses and one garden in West Bridgford opened their doors to the public for an Eco House Open Day. Each house had one or more eco features on display, and visitors had the opportunity to find out first hand the experiences (good or bad!) of the home-owners who had installed them.
The eco features on display included
□ Several different types of solar hot water system
□ Photo voltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity
□ Water-saving devices
□ Heat-exchange fan
□ Wood-burning stoves
□ Energy smart meters
□ Rainwater harvesting
□ Ground source heat pump
□ Surya Sunbox (a new invention, a world first!)
□ Sun tube
□ Biomass boiler
□ External wall insulation
□ Secondary glazing
□ Vegetable plot
□ Livestock
Several houses had vegetable gardens on display (one with chickens!), and an additional garden was open to visitors to demonstrate the Garden Share scheme. This scheme teams up someone who would like space to grow vegetables with someone who has spare space in their garden to do so. The crop is shared between them.
In all, we estimate there were about 70 visitors including friends or families of those who signed up for the visits. Many viewed more than one house, so it was a busy day for some home-owners.
Following the Open Day, there is now an Eco House Group for anyone who is considering installing Eco features in their homes, or who has already done so, or who is just interested in the subject. Contact tinaholt2004@yahoo.co.uk if you would like to know more.
