Green Home Inspiration In The Peak District

Biomass boiler heating is a fantastic way of warming your home in a more efficient way than traditional gas or electric systems, and if zero-carbon living is your goal, one property in the Peak District could be your inspiration.

Homes and Property reported that Fred and Saffron Baker, together with their children Billy and Grace, have their dream green home, which is so eco-friendly, the family need never pay another electricity or heating bill.

The property, which featured on Grand Designs, cost more than £1 million and was erected on an old dairy site, after some wrangling over planning permission to begin the work, which required digging into a hillside overlooking the dales.

The living room and kitchen get the best of the natural light on the middle floor, while the bedrooms are underground. Massive rubber-sealed wooden shutters come down over the large windows at night keeping the house cosy against the mountain winds.

Solar panels have been installed on the roof, allowing the family to generate their own electricity and helping to cancel out some of the carbon footprint of the building generated by the use of concrete breeze blocks in its construction.

Fred Baker believes the home will be carbon-neutral within seven years.

Shrinking our carbon footprint is becoming more important around the country, with the government announcing 11 new energy projects that have been successful in the most recent round of auctions for renewable technologies, which are expected to generate enough electricity to power 3.6 million homes