Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign Winners

Posted under Blog by Ruth

The winners of the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign saw their project completely recently. Winners Will Homoky and Catherine Beswick won £23,000 worth of additions and changes to make their Victorian property more energy efficient.

A number of energy efficient measures were included to make the property more eco friendly, including loft insulation and an extra fifteen centimetres of thickness added to the interior walls to help keep heat inside the property.

Double glazing was also installed in windows, containing argon gas between the layers of glass to help keep as much heat inside as possible. Added measures include solar panels to help reduce bills and even sell power to the national grid.

On top of utility savings, the property has also already increased in value by £25,000 thanks to these upgrades.

Kevin McCloud, of Grand Designs, said that ‘it is vital that we cut our carbon emissions and meet these targets - and our homes are the obvious place to start.’ He also said that a nationwide program is needed to help improve the wide variety of housing types across the country. The government also needs to find ways to help people with the upfront costs, after which they will benefit from cheaper energy bills.

Over 8,000 people entered into the competition, and five homes were chosen at random to benefit from the upgrades. Runners up will still receive over £5,000 worth of green upgrades, energy consultations and more.