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Learning from the germans

Ken Pearce, a police officer, 47, lives with Susanne Dauer, 37, who used to be a police officer in Germany. They live with their daughter Emma, aged one, in one of two pilot houses in Hunts Cross Village, a Bellway development in Liverpool.

Ken Pearce had never heard of geothermal heat pump technology until he viewed his four-bedroom home in Hunts Cross Village, Liverpool. But his German girlfriend Susanne Dauer knew all about them. 鈥淚 knew from Germany how much money you could save with them,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚n Germany, they鈥檙e not common but people will do anything to save because energy is more expensive there, but geothermal is expensive if you have to convert to it.鈥�

Dauer says Britain is far behind Germany in terms of environmental awareness. She attributes this difference to energy costs.

鈥淚 used to take my electricity bills home to show my mother how low they were, but the energy costs over here are catching up now.鈥�

She鈥檚 not so impressed by the opportunities for recycling.鈥滻 do what I can here, like the paper and glass, but it鈥檚 not much. We have just one bin for all the other rubbish. I feel ashamed that so much goes in there. In Germany, we have to recycle.鈥�

The family moved in just three months ago. 鈥淲e wanted a brand new house. The geothermal was one of the swinging points,鈥� explains Pearce. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been told to expect to save two-thirds on what we鈥檇 normally pay.鈥�

Geothermal heat pump technology works from heat harvested from the ground beneath their garden. A loop of pipe draws a small amount of heat and feeds it into the home via a pump that raises the temperature.

So far, the couple has been impressed with their heating system. 鈥淭he radiators warm up immediately,鈥� says Pearce. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great that Emma can run around with bare feet.鈥�

It is also easy to use. 鈥淭here鈥檚 the timer, on, off and constant, like any other boiler,鈥� says Pearce. 鈥淭he only real difference is the ugly heat pump in the garage.鈥�

The system was initially working a little too well. 鈥淭he water that was coming out of the taps was too hot to put your hands under. I had to make a few adjustments.鈥�

As part of their contract, Bellway is paying the couple鈥檚 electricity bills for their first 12 months. 鈥淲e鈥檝e agreed to try it for a year and if we don鈥檛 like it, we鈥檙e all plumbed in for gas and we just have to switch it on,鈥� says Pearce. 鈥淚f we had to pay ourselves, it wouldn鈥檛 have bothered me. I鈥檇 have still liked to have tried it out.鈥�

The accidental eco-warriors

The East sisters have lived in a two-bedroom flat at Places for People鈥檚 Broughton development in Milton Keynes for more than a year. Jodie East, 21, is a trainee accountant and Karri East, 23, is a sales administrator.

We have recycling bins in the kitchen but they鈥檙e too small. We keep our crisps in them

Karri East

When Jodie and Karri East saw their flat they fell in love with the space, rather than its eco-credentials. 鈥淚t looked like a normal, nice flat. It didn鈥檛 matter so much that it was an ecohome. It was our mum who was most impressed by it,鈥� admits Jodie.

鈥淚 was 19 and too busy going out, getting drunk and racing around in my car to pay attention. But obviously it鈥檚 something we care about now we pay the bills.鈥�

The sisters part-rent, part-own the flat. Although they have lived there for more than a year, they are surprised to hear that it has a Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS), which handles the discharge of surface water and encourages it to be retained on site.

鈥淩eally?鈥� asks Karri. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know about that. We know we have the recycling bins in the kitchen but they鈥檙e too small. We keep our crisps in them.鈥�

The house was already fitted with A-rated appliances before they moved in, but the Easts have become increasingly conscious of the amount of energy they use. Theirs was one of 30 households piloting the use of an Electrisave meter, a remote control-sized contraption that shows how much money they are spending on electricity and the amount of greenhouse gas they are producing.

On a cold winter evening, with a couple of lights and the TV on, they are spending 3.2p and producing 0.26kg of carbon per hour.

鈥淣ow it just sits there and it鈥檚 a reminder,鈥� says Jodie. 鈥淲e used to leave all three TVs on standby, now it鈥檚 a habit to switch them off. Instead of filling the kettle to the top, now we only fill it enough for one cup of tea.

鈥淲e are now more conscious and more aware of how much you can waste. It鈥檚 the saving money that we think about most. The environment is a bonus, really. But I do tell my friends: 鈥楤e green, be green鈥�, I tell them to switch things off at the plug.鈥� She even took the electricity meter into work because so many of her colleagues were asking about it.

The Easts aren鈥檛 quite sure how much they are spending on bills. 鈥淢um deals with all of that,鈥� admits Jodie. 鈥淪he does say she wishes her bills were that low, though.鈥�

According to the results of Places for People鈥檚 feedback from other residents, the average saving since living on the development is 15%.

鈥淚f I moved in to another place, I鈥檓 sure I would think: 鈥楪od, I鈥檝e never paid so much in bills. This is disgusting,鈥� says Jodie. She would definitely look for another ecohome if she were to relocate, but admits that the aesthetics would be important 鈥� she wouldn鈥檛 want anything too wacky.

鈥淚t would depend on how the house looked. This place looked nice, it fits in with everything around it.鈥�

A better quality of life

Annette Stowe, 45, has lived on Gallions Housing Association鈥檚 Ecopark in Thamesmead, south-east London, for four years. Her home has an EcoHomes excellent rating. She lives with her husband Mark, 43, and three daughters: Laura, 18, Georgia, 14, and Ruby, eight. Annette works part-time in Asda and Mark is an insurance claims adjuster.

I now put out one black bag of rubbish a week. It used to be at least three

Annette Stowe

When Annette Stowe鈥檚 friends first saw her house, they were taken back to their adolescence, to PE class and gym skirts. 鈥淭hey thought it looked like a school gym,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 can see why. It鈥檚 all the windows.鈥�

Stowe鈥檚 home is one of 39 houses at the Thamesmead Ecopark, near Woolwich, and she prefers to describe it as 鈥渧ery Scandinavian鈥�. It has a timber frame, a solar panel on the roof and a 鈥渟unspace鈥� to the rear, with windows that run from floor to ceiling.

鈥淭hey should make all houses like this,鈥� says Stowe. 鈥淚t is a better quality of life. Now my friends are used to it, they鈥檙e jealous.鈥�

One of the biggest differences has been the gas bills: they have fallen to 拢20 a month, or one-third of the national average. 鈥淢y gas bills are half of what they used to be, and that鈥檚 for five people. It鈥檚 nice to stay warm, not worrying about the heating.鈥�

But her electricity bills have not fallen, which Stowe puts down to the number of appliances the family uses. 鈥淭he only saving is on lightbulbs. They鈥檙e energy saving and I don鈥檛 have to buy them that often.鈥�

The family signed up to live in Ecopark four years ago, agreeing to make an effort to lead a more environment-friendly lifestyle.

鈥淓co-housing was new at the time. We liked the thought of being part of something no one else was doing. We thought: wow, the future.鈥�

They didn鈥檛 see the new house until the day they moved in, but were relieved to find that it looks a lot more 鈥渘ormal鈥� from the inside. Once through the door, the only visible difference is the sunspace, which traps heat.

鈥淚 love it,鈥� says Stowe, pointing to the windows that cover almost the whole living room wall. They are south-facing and triple glazed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 23掳C in here now and that鈥檚 with no heating on. I only have it on for an hour or so in the morning. I like sitting in there in summer. The temperature is always even throughout the house.鈥�

When Stowe visits other people in their conventional homes, she finds them drafty. 鈥淧eople always think we have to do all these things because we live in an ecohome, but we don鈥檛. The house does it all for you. It鈥檚 the same as anywhere else, just better. I don鈥檛 have to go round looking for an extra jumper because I can鈥檛 heat it enough in the winter.鈥�

She has also noticed some health benefits. 鈥淲here we used to live had blow-air heating and it was hell for my asthma 鈥� I haven鈥檛 suffered with it since living here.鈥�

As a result of living in an ecohome, the family are putting more effort into being environment-friendly. 鈥淚 now put out only one black bag of rubbish a week. It used to be at least three,鈥� says Stowe. 鈥淩ecycling was part of the deal when we moved in, but now we just do it without thinking about it.鈥�

The only downside is the heat in summer. 鈥淭he sun is beating through there 12 hours a day,鈥� says Stowe, gesturing to the sunspace. 鈥淲e could do with being able to open the skylights. Two of the girls share a room and it gets unbearable, especially at night.鈥�

But Stowe wouldn鈥檛 move. 鈥淲ould you give this up?鈥� she asks, nodding in the direction of her vast windows. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think so.鈥�