Richard Zinzan finds home renovations kind to both your pocket and the environment

This week I thought I’d share with you the renovation of a 1920s end-of-terrace house in Queen’s Park. The client wanted modern day living within a traditional style house and it was important to be as environmentally friendly as possible too.

The first job was to change the windows. The original windows had been taken out in the front of the house and had been replaced with plastic windows. In the back the originals had been retained but were single glazed. We sourced some high performance double glazed Crittall (80 per cent recycled steel) windows which were more in-keeping with the original look of the property. These, along with the cavity wall Ecobead insulation and under floor heating and insulation, mean the house is much warmer.

The Photovoltaic roof panels allow the couple to generate their own electricity. “It’s changed the way we use our home, as we get free electricity during daylight hours. I’m always sure to switch the dishwasher and washing machine on during the day to make the most of it,” says Chris. The South Coast is the ideal place for solar panels, as not only do we get more sun than the national average, but we get lots of radiant light reflecting from the sea.

I think the thing I like most about this property is the use of reclaimed materials. From the glamorous worktops, cleverly fashioned from recycled glass, to the use of existing timber panelled doors and salvaged paving slabs reclaimed from local yards which would otherwise been sent to landfill, this property gives old materials a new lease of life.

A lot of people think it’s very costly to modify your home to be greener; although it is an investment initially, it quickly starts to save and even make you money. For example, the cost of the solar panels was about £6,800 and it will take about seven years to pay off with a continued income for a further 18 years thanks to the Feed In Tariff.

When renovating, there are a great many things you can do to make your home kinder to your pocket and the environment. At ARCH Angels, we love chatting to people about how they can realise this for their own homes.

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