However, 'grand designers' need to get their skates on if they’re not to miss the closing date of 31 December 2006 to be in with a chance of winning the £5,000 top prize.
It’s Gordon Brown’s aim that future homes are “zero carbon” but right now a growing number of the estimated 20,000 people who “self-build” their own homes every year are incorporating more environmental features to their homes. With greater availability of eco devices and greater awareness of what global warming means (such as the flooding many areas of the country are currently experiencing), the aim of N&P’s competition is to raise awareness of how homes can be built in more environmentally-responsible ways.
N&P’s competition is open to all home-owners (not just N&P mortgage customers) who have undertaken a more energy efficient 'self-build'. The winner will be the entrant whose property has, in the opinion of the judges, a most positive impact on the environment. The prize is a super £5,000 cash.
There are many energy-efficient features that can be incorporated into a brand new home to make it “zero carbon” or close to it, including:
• Building on a “brownfield” site (thereby not building on virgin countryside)
• Water recycling systems that re-use household water
• Super-efficient insulation and/or double-glazing
• Energy-saving central heating/water heating systems
• Wind turbines
• Ground source heat pumps
Last year’s winners, Ben and Merry Albright from Hertfordshire, made environmentally-friendly features top priority in their winning self-build project. Ben, a sales manager, said: “Self-building is both a huge opportunity and a huge luxury, but it is possible to be ethical and ecological without being incredibly rich or slightly strange.”
Richard Lloyd, managing director of N&P’s surveying arm Hockleys, who will be co-judging this year’s competition, said: “Entrants need to get their skates on if they’re going to enter this year’s competition. I'm looking forward to the judging very much. Making homes energy efficient saves people money and helps the environment – everyone wins and one lucky eco-builder will win £5,000.”
