RENEWABLES FIRM MARKS 1,000TH FITTING
A renewables firm recently celebrated completion of its 1,000th installation – converting an Anglesey cottage into a state of the art eco-home.
The major milestone coincides with Hafod Renewable Energy’s 10th anniversary in business.
Hafod Managing Director David Jones and his father, Richard, launched in Denbigh in 2010 when the concept of renewables-powered, carbon-neutral domestic homes was in its infancy and a decade later the company is among the UK’s leaders in the field.
Their 1000th contract was for repeat customers Martin and Caroline Schwaller, who made the decision to go green for a second time on buying a four-bedroom property with 4.7 acres of land – plus a Shetland Pony – at Burwen near Amlwch.
David presented them with a souvenir gift bottle of champagne bearing a specially designed ‘1000th installation’ label and said: “This is a genuine milestone moment. It’s incredible to think how far we’ve come since 2010, and our success story is continuing. Through commercial business and domestic work like this we’re building on our breadth of knowledge and experience and have secured prestigious contracts across North Wales, Cheshire, the
Wirral and the North West.”
The landmark installation – completed before coronavirus lockdown restrictions – was for the Schwallers, a retired couple who are strong believers in green energy.
David added: “We did explore ground source heating but due to the island being on rock it would have been impracticable to excavate so air source was the obvious choice. The fact that Anglesey has high annual air temperatures also means the system will be super-efficient.”
Martin said: “We’re staying in Anglesey for the rest of our lives. We love our [previous home] Elim cottage but it’s small, not nearly big enough for all our belongings, so we bought Carreg y Cad and after discovering the advantages of renewable energy at Elim we wanted to do the same here.”
The house, built in the 1900s,was given a complete refit with Hafod installing underfloor heating throughout, air source-powered hot water and central heating and electricity supplied via sixteen 280 watt solar panels on an outbuilding roof top.
The couple are putting their Elim cottage on the market – and potential buyers will discover it comes with an added incentive - the new owners will receive the Renewable Heating Incentive payments of several hundred pounds every quarter for another three years.
Martin, a former sustainable energy manager with Mitchells and Butlers, one of the largest operators of restaurants, pubs and bars in the UK, said: “Caroline and I are eco-minded and have always done our best to choose alternatives to carbon fuels but having experienced living in a renewable-powered home we are more committed than ever.”
Hafod Renewables, which recently moved to its own carbon-free HQ at Tremeirchion, in the Vale of Clwyd, now employs 11 staff and and has been crowned Wales’ Renewable Heating Installer of the Year for the last two years at the national Energy Efficiency Awards in Birmingham.
hafodrenewables.co.uk/