Government minister visits award-winning green home

Date published: 28 November 2011

Alistair Burt MP sees energy savings first hand

MP Alistair Burt dropped in on residents of the award-winning energy-saving retrofit bungalow owned by Aragon Housing Association to see how their state of the art 'green' home has halved their energy bills.

The MP for north east Bedfordshire met the tenants to view their home which SDC has fitted with a range of renewable technologies as part of a major experiment in domestic energy.

Mr Burt said: "I have been very impressed by the project. It seems to have been an excellent collaboration between all the partners. To achieve these results needs the best balance between everyone and it will be interesting to see what the Government can learn from all the data which is being collected."

The bungalow, winner of a Local Authority Building Control award and  shortlisted for the UK Sustainable Housing Awards, was fitted not only with solar power and solar heating, but also uses space shuttle insulation and a state of the art heat ventilation system.

It was refurbished by Aragon as part of a Government initiative with partners from SDC, Bedford College, Cambridge and Loughborough Universities and Ecodesign Consultants.

Data gathered at the bungalow is being monitored over two years to work out how successful various new technologies and renewables are in reducing the carbon footprint and energy bills for domestic consumers.

Tenant Shaun Freeman (pictured here with Alistair Burt) has seen his electricity bill fall from £750 last year to £350 this year as a result of the improved technology in his home. He said: "We used to be in fuel poverty but now we are have reduced our bills by more than half. It has worked even better than we could have imagined.  This has to be the way forward for homes."