Holiday Cottage Eco Project

In October 2006 we decided to convert the Mill to luxury self-catering accomodation in order to give the building a sustainable future. We already had an interest in alternative ways of generating energy to power homes.  In 2007 we were audited by the Green Tourism Business Scheme and awarded their gold rating.  In 2008 we were delighted to receive one of only two "Outstanding" awards made by Durham County Council under their Environmental Award Scheme. After we received the Award almost all the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Durham County Council visited the Mill to see for themselves. In 2009 Jane was invited to become a judge for the Durham County Council Environment Awards.

There were several reasons to persuade us to take on such a project;

• There is no mains gas and no access for bulk fuel delivery here
• The increasing price of energy makes alternative schemes more economically attractive by reducing energy bills
• We try not to review projects in pure financial payback terms but focus on the wider benefits
• Heating and powering of houses accounts for almost a third of carbon dioxide produced in the UK. Installing alternative technologies will make a large reduction in the environmental impact of your home

Ground Source Heat Pump

We decided to go for a NIBE pump from Sweden. More than 600 metres of pipe were buried a metre down in trenches in the Orchard Paddock.

Working on similar principles to a refrigerator but in reverse, the heat pump in the house pumps a fluid  around the pipe system under the paddock where it picks up heat from the ground (originally of course it is solar energy but retained in the soil) and brings it back to the house where the energy is transferred to water to give us heating and domestic hot water.

Micro hydro

You cannot use old mill technology to generate electricity efficiently so we are using a new British micro-turbine system and have excavated a pipe trench from the Greta upstream of the Mill through the River Paddock to the turbine where thewater generates 2.5 kilowatts of electricity. 

Solar Panels

We have two panels on the roof to pre-heat the hot water.

Organic Vegetable Garden

Jane has planted an organic vegetable garden sothat guests can buy home grown produce thus  increasing foodquality and reducing food miles.

Insulation and Double Glazing

In order to use a heat pump system (which runs at a lower temperature than a conventional central heating system) it is vital to insulate your house efficiently. This was a real challenge in an old, stone-built Listed Building and we had to put in large amounts of roof and wall insulation and double glazing. Again, permissions had to be sought from the Conservation authorities for all these alterations.

The Mill is equipped with a convection wood burning stove which is carbon neutral. The Gorge offers renewable timber supplies...

The payback periods for a scheme like this are still long. You need capital to finance the scheme initially although there are some grants available. You need security and commitment to stay in the property for a longish period unless you are gambling on realising a higher price for your property because it has these green power advantages (too early to say in today’s property market). You also have to be willing to get to grips with understanding the technology up to a point and servicing the scheme. For instance, we will have to rake the leaves off the grids preventing fish and debris clogging up the turbine pipe.

On the plus side every time energy prices rise our payback period shortens in a very satisfying manner… It has been a fascinating journey, we’ve met some lovely inspirational people and are well on the way to achieving a green dream…

See press cutting from The Teesdale Mercury

See press cutting from the Darlington and Stockton Times.