Category: Home Energy Management

Hyson Green Eco House – Nottingham, UK

The Partnership Council is a community charity based in Radford, Nottingham, UK has been given planning permission by Nottingham City Council to convert a small terraced house on St Paul’s Terrace in Hyson Green into the Hyson Green Eco House.

The Eco House will be used as a base for money-saving information and community workshops to help local people save money on fuel bills. Free workshops will teach simple, affordable DIY techniques, which people can use in their own homes.

Nottingham City Homes will lend the property to the Partnership Council, to help improve the quality of life for local families. We are now just awaiting the final paperwork.

Moby Farrands from the Partnership Council, who’s been planning the project, said:

“Other Eco Houses in the UK have cost thousands of pounds to reduce their energy bills. Most are large houses with big gardens, owned by organisations or people who can afford expensive adjustments – installing heat pumps, solar panels and hi-tech insulation.

Our Eco House has a concrete back yard and a draughty front door into the living room,  its like many local houses.  We will show you can cut costs in a small house on a tiny budget, using your own skills, with help from fellow volunteers and recycled materials.

We will start with activities like sewing and putting up thermal curtains, draught-proofing floor boards, growing food on a small budget- not like the ‘Grand Designs’ Eco homes on the TV programme. We are keen to hear from anyone with their own home-grown designs or a skill to share – DIY, sewing, recycling or container-gardening. And a fun bit- we want some volunteers to build us a bicycle smoothie-maker.”

Key Motivation

Moby said that:

“Our Eco House Project is motivated by the findings that impoverished owner occupiers and tenants of private landlords have limited resources and little motivation for projects for carbon reduction. Our Project aims to help people with small scale DIY projects, and to experiment with alternatives to expensive options, with the focus on reduced fuel bills. We will hope to give information and support with applications for grants for more hi-tech options, and to campaign with public authorities for larger scale action. Our main focus is small old terraced housing, much of which will still be accommodation for the poor in 20 to 30 years time in many Midlands and Northern cities.”

More information

Can the Creators of the iPhone Make Home Energy Management Sexy?

Nest Labs, is a super stealth-mode company that is creating a home energy management system — basically a digital thermostat that can be managed remotely in order to save energy. It’s a lot like its competitors Tendril, EcoFactor, and OPower, but with one very important difference: its founders helped invent the iPhone’s distinctive interface.


The company, according to trademark filings, is creating a:

“Climate control system consisting of a digital thermostat that automatically sets climate conditions based on prior and historical patterns of climate settings selected by users; climate control system consisting of a digital thermostat that can be controlled wirelessly from a remote location; software application for use on computers and hand-held devices to control climate and energy usage in homes and businesses from a remote location.”

Full articles:-

Can the Creators of the iPhone Make Home Energy Management Sexy? – Technology Review.

Nest Labs: iPhone Alums Prepping Home Networking Devices : Greentech Media.