Fourways: Revisited

Back in 2022, we worked on a fantastic project with self-builders, Stephen and Dawn Laverick in the Cheshire countryside. The couple built their home, Fourways, with energy-efficiency in mind and continue to monitor its performance. Three years on from completion, we caught up with Stephen to find out how their dream home is working for them.

Tell us a little about your project

We initially purchased a plot which already contained a home, but it was a dated property with an energy-efficiency rating of E (44). We realised it would require extensive interior and exterior renovation work to bring it up to date to meet the modern expectations of a sustainable home, so we decided to demolish the existing home and self-build a property to our ideal specifications.

Energy-efficiency was a key factor in our build objectives, so we went down the timber frame route, using Frame Technologies TechVantage™ S system, along with an air source heat pump, solar panels, battery storage and MVHR.

How did the home perform on completion?

Shortly after completion, I compared the energy consumption for heating at Fourways to our previous home. The former house was a conventional brick and block property built in 1993 and was 27% smaller in internal room space compared to Fourways.

Factoring in the Fourways’ larger floor space and taking readings from all energy sources (the grid, directly from solar panels and from battery storage), for heating alone I calculated that our new home used 85% less energy annually* than the previous brick-built home.

*data gathered between July 2022 – July 2023.

What has changed since you moved in?

There have been a few changes since 2022. The key things are that battery storage capacity has been increased from 9.5 kWh to 18 kWh, and I have changed the electricity tariff to Octopus Cosy, which is aimed at properties with air source heat pump systems.

Collectively, these changes have enabled battery capacity to store more solar generated power – which is particularly useful during the spring/summer months. And we have a much more cost-effective storage and deployment of battery stored power.

What is the current assessment of Fourways energy consumption?

Heating related energy consumption:

It is the heating related energy usage that is very dependent on key aspects of the house structure, such as levels of insulation, airtightness etc - all of which are integral to the design and construction of a timber frame property.

For Fourways the energy consumption (in terms of kWh) for the air source heat pump-based heating consistently continues to be circa 15% of that required in our previous property.

Overall consumption (Heating & Non Heating):

Our overall total consumption (from grid, solar and battery) is around 12,000 -12,500 kWh.

Electricity consumption cost:

The increased battery storage capacity and use of an electricity tariff targeted towards properties with air source heat pump heating, have contributed to reducing the overall cost of our electricity.

To put this in context, by managing how and when the batteries are charged, we can reduce the average cost per kWh from the grid to circa 50% of the prevailing electricity price cap unit cost.

Have you come across any surprises?

Our overall total consumption (from grid, solar and battery) for Fourways is higher than we thought previously. I initially thought the annual consumption was circa 10,000 kWh, but I didn’t fully understand sufficiently the extent of the energy delivered by the solar panels and from energy stored in the batteries.

Now that I better understand and have learnt how to better manage the use of the solar power and battery storage, it’s looking like our total usage is more in the region of 12,000 -12,500 kWh.

Is this a concern?

No, not at all. It is still substantially lower than the overall energy consumption (kWh) of our previous property.

The additional 2000-2500 kWh is basically for free... solar power fed directly to meet demand from the property or stored in the batteries and subsequently deployed - or charging the batteries during a lower tariff period which is then subsequently deployed.

We are still feeding circa 1500 kWh back to the grid. We do get paid an export tariff per kWh, but it is more cost effective to use it ourselves to further reduce our dependence on the grid.

What are your next steps?

My next steps are to investigate options to reduce/eliminate electricity being fed back to the grid, and to investigate some inconsistencies I have come across in the data being reported by and within the various systems I get the energy consumption data from. By doing this I’ll be able to get a clearer picture of the performance of our home.

If you have any questions about this, or would like to find out how we can help deliver your dream home, get in touch with us today.