SUSTAINABILITY

Here are some of the features you’ll experience during your visit:

 

• Existing concrete footings from previous out buildings on the site were crushed and then reused to form the new foundations – reducing the energy need of manufacturing, delivering and pouring new concrete

 

• Buildings are all timber framed and therefore carbon neutral – if the trees making up the frames were not harvested then their carbon content would be released into the atmosphere as they decay! The oak used was sourced from FSC compliant sources http://www.fsc-uk.org

 

• Under floor heating runs at 30 degrees centigrade

 

• The heat source is a wood pellet burning boiler. The pellets are made from a natural by-product from timber mills in Cornwall – sawdust which is then compressed (the boiler with wood pellet feeder system is displayed in the photo to right)

 

• Water is supplied from a natural underground water supply collected in the foothills of Glastonbury Tor. A bore hole was sunk 42 meters down into the Somerset levels and the water is filtered using Ultra Violet techniques and has been tested for its purity. It does not have or require additional Flourides. It supplies both the hot and cold water supplies

 

• There is a 10,000 litre rainwater harvester which provides water for the toilets and the gardens and flower beds.

 

• Sewage is treated in an anaerobic bio-digester. It uses an air blown technique to speed up the bacterial process producing water that is 98% pure before discharge

 

• Solar panels mounted on the cottage roofs use high efficiency evacuated tubes to produce hot water. Each cottage’s supply is stored in highly insulated tanks

 

• All lighting uses low energy type light bulbs. The farm has a 3 phase power supply and the electricity needed comes from a Green Tariff supplier

 

• All electrical appliances are ‘A’ rated so are energy efficient

 

• All roof tiles reclaimed from a local shop.