The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
£20k cottage refit halves heating bills
Fife couple Pete and Niamh Day have cut their heating bills in half after refitting their 200-year old Anstruther cottage.
The couple decided to plough nearly £20,000 into heating and energy efficiency improvements to their home on the outskirts of Anstruther, which was built in the 1800s.
Now, they have halved heating bills and are selling their surplus electricity.
Pete said: “It had to be completely gutted, so it’s now essentially a new house inside an old frame.”
There is a renewed focus on energy efficiency and more environmentallyfriendly heating ahead of COP26 climate change talks coming to Scotland later this year.
The improvements at Rhidgeways Cottage, East Pitkierie, began before the Days bought the property about seven years ago.
The previous owner started work on the basics, such as insulation, on the property, which is about 200 years old.
When they took over, Pete and Niamh decided to make their home run predominantly on renewable energy.
Pete said: “The bills were pretty expensive — we were spending about £4,000 a year on heating.
“The first thing we did was get some solar panels on the roof.
“The previous owner’s work allowed us to be able to put a heat pump in place instead of the boilers and they have been a dream.
“We wanted to cut down our energy bills, but we really wanted to make the home greener.”
A heat pump moves warm and cool air around a home and uses far less energy to operate.
The couple spent around £17,000 on all their upgrades – but the investment has since started paying for itself.
The two-bedroom cottage is now supplying electricity to the National Grid during sunnier months, and the home is considerably cheaper to heat.
“Our heating and electricity bills have at least halved since having the heat pump put in,” Pete said.
He added: “We are coming from one extreme and improving an old and inefficient home.
“It’s achievable to improve most homes if governments wake up and are forced to do something.”
A recent report by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks found that more than half of Dundee houses need improvements in order to have at least an EPC C rating, which the Scottish Government wants all dwellings to have by 2040.
Holyrood does not currently intend to make improvements mandatory for private home owners.
Instead, it will “encourage uptake” of grants and work with local authorities on delivering improvement schemes.
However, this may change by 2030 with a recent Scottish Government report warning it may be necessary to “mandate action” by that date.