As its name implies, The Solar House is the UK’s first fully solar-powered new-build home and provides a blueprint for the future of UK homes, having proven that the government’s 2016 goal of zero carbon homes can be achieved.
The five bedroomed, four bathroom house is designed to collect and store enough solar energy to provide heating and hot water, and around twice the electricity needed to run the system. It uses only eco-friendly building materials and sustainable technologies to eliminate the need for utility services such as electricity and gas and reduces the need for piped water by utilising rainwater.
It is home to Ian and Ruth Bowers, along with their 15 year old son Max and two dogs. They bought the house in July 2014 for just under £1.2 million.
Along with 28 solar roof panels and state-of-the-art operating system, the 40 triple glazed windows, many south facing and more than 2m2, are key to enhancing the house’s performance during the winter months.
But with this many south facing windows and supreme insulation, there is the problem of over-heating and too much sunlight during the hot summer months.
Ruth Bowers, who works for an energy rating software, training and certification business, talks about their choice of décor. “Our original idea was to build our own house and install as many energy saving features and technologies as possible, but when The Solar House came on the market in Autumn 2013 we fell in love with it. Obviously the appeal of no utility bills was a huge factor in our choice to move here, but even though it’s a zero carbon house we don’t think we’ve compromised on style.
“We love the views and the fact that, with so much glazing, the inside merges with the outdoors. Most of the time we have to have the doors open anyway as it’s so warm, extending the feeling of space and that the house doesn’t finish at the window.
“Our previous houses have always been period properties. We moved from a turn of the century house in Harborough and so this was a very different house to style. While we love the mix of a modern structure with our period furnishings we’re still in the process of styling the house to make the most of its design.
“There is a lot of lovely warm wood in the house and it has a very light and airy feel, which is why we have tried to keep our décor quite neutral – including our blinds, which are all shades of grey and taupe. The views are so beautiful we didn’t feel the need for fussy wallpaper, patterned window coverings or even many paintings. Our walls really just feature family photos and canvases.
“A palette of neutrals compliments our breath-taking views across the Leicestershire countryside. You can’t compete with nature. We’ve injected simple pops of colour without overpowering the room.”
“But it’s not just in the day that we enjoy the glazed aspects of the house. The evening sky is simply breath-taking and it’s even inspired my son to become a keen astrologer. You simply don’t get this in houses without this much glazing.”
“Our other observation having come from period properties is that this house has no drafts! It is so well insulated and sealed that, even though it’s very open plan and has large expanses, you can’t help but feel cosy in it.”
Ruth added: “The only downside of the house I would say is that it can get too hot.”
To combat that problem, they have installed special solar-resistant blinds. Homeowner Ian Bowers said they chose blinds from manufacturer Duette because of their design and efficiency.
“We knew we wanted blinds in the house because of the overall style of property, both internally and externally, which is very minimalist and modern. Our initial research into solar resistant blinds led us to very industrial looking solutions that are fine for commercial buildings but not for a family home,” he said.
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