Peter Davies, Wales’ Sustainable Futures Commissioner has visited the Davies family’s cutting-edge, off-grid home at Manmoel in Caerphilly. The property is not connected to mains electricity, gas, water, or sewage networks - meaning that all energy must be generated and stored on site, with the family having cut their energy usage by 50%.
The Commissioner said: "The Davies family's story is truly inspiring. Maes Yr Onn is a beautiful, modern, and incredibly efficient farm as well as a comfortable family home. The project shows what's possible when you have vision and collaborate with others to bring it to life."
The Davies family partnered with Caerphilly Borough Council on the project, with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) undertaking initial feasibility studies and technical design in order to maximise the efficiency and U-values of the property.
SWALEC parent company SSE financed and installed the various green technologies on the property, which includes solar PV on the roof to generate electricity, batteries in the basement to store that electricity, as well as thermal storage and metering technology to help the family to manage it. The site also features a biomass boiler which uses wood sourced from woodland on the farm as fuel, and rainwater harvesting technology, which recycles rainwater for domestic use.
The commissioner heard how the family has adapted its behaviour, for example they now only use one appliance at a time and have ditched their modern tumble dryer and dishwasher. To aid these behaviour changes, SSE has provided the family with a computer tablet to view this data in real time and help them manage their energy usage. The data gathered from the site will be shared with Constructing Excellence in Wales, the BRE, SSE, and Caerphilly CBC to inform future off-grid living projects.
Cllr Ken James, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Sustainable Development at Caerphilly county borough council, said, “It is exciting to see this pioneering project being recognised for the innovative technologies it will use to sustain the Davies family living at Maes Yr Onn. I am thrilled that the council has worked so well with partners to help a family realise their dream of living off-grid, and in the process have created a little slice of history that will hopefully see similar projects and sustainable homes spring up across the country.”
The success of the project has been recognised across Europe, with Maes-yr-Onn being nominated for the ‘The World You Like Challenge’, a Europe-wide competition to find and promote low-carbon practices, with the aim of inspiring others to follow suit. You can vote for the project on the competition’s website.