‘CARBON NEUTRAL? MY HOME’S CARBON NEGATIVE’

One of the eco protestors arrested (twice) this week in London was Donnachadh McCarthy.

The Munster man doesn’t fork out any of the money he makes as an eco-consultant on the running costs of his London home. In fact, he makes a £150 profit overall on his utility bills.

He converted his 1840s terraced home into a house that would amaze its Victorian builders. It has solar electric panels, solar hot water panels, a rain-harvesting system, wood–burner, wind-turbine and catalytic converter gas fire.

The house was the first private home in London to export solar electricity from the roof to London Electricity in 1997.

Since 2003 the house has been a net exporter of electricity, thanks to solar panels and a wind turbine.

And in 2006/7 Donnachadh achieved his dream of being not only carbon neutral but carbon negative. This means he exports more green electricity to the national grid than he imports fossil fuels (gas).

‘My gas bill last year was £10. My water bill, other than the standing charge, was £5. If you add up the utilities, I made a net profit of £150 per year,’ he says.

The solar hot water system was installed two years ago and supplies about 70% of the household’s needs. His home also has a wood burner in the open plan living room/ dining room/kitchen area.

‘This is, by far, the greatest contributor to reducing the energy carbon footprint of the house,’ he says. ‘People often forget that electricity consumption, on average, is responsible for 30% of the average house’s carbon footprint, whereas space and water heating account for the other 70%.’

It cost about £800, plus £2,000 for installation and a new chimney flue.

Modern room heating stoves are highly efficient compared to a traditional open fire, providing three times the heat for a quarter of the fuel consumption.

Donnachadh opens his home to the public during London architectural week in September, and for occasional visits by interested parties. See www.3acorns.co.uk.