Book FREE tickets to visit real homes in Amersham and Chesham to see how owners have improved energy efficiency - saving money and carbon.

Open Eco-Home events are a great opportunity to find out what it's really like to install and live with low carbon technology.

There are three homes to visit on Saturday 14th November and another two on Sunday 15th, each showcasing various combinations of technology and environmentally friendly approaches to energy efficiency and decarbonised power and heating systems - along with nature-friendly, sustainable gardens.

Tours take about and hour, and you can book to visit just one home, or as many as you like from the list below:

10.30am, Saturday 14th Nov - Bevan Hill, Chesham: 1970s 4 bed semi-detatched house. Improvements have been made over time and include: solar panels, heat pump, cavity wall and loft insulation, double glazing and an EV charger. The homeowner uses a Home Assistant app to monitor energy use, and has a nature-friendly garden with high pollinator appeal.

12 noon, Saturday 14th Nov - Stanley Avenue, Chesham: Large Victorian house with annexe. The main house and annexe are fitted with ground source heat pumps, which involved drilling 4 vertical boreholes to depth of 145 metres! Other measures: solar panels and batteries, double glazed period windows and the home is fully insulated including ground floor beneath original suspended Victorian flooring.

1.30pm, Saturday 14th Nov - Latimer Road, Chesham: 1920s detatched house. Retrofit home improvements over two years removing the chimney stack and fireplaces and disconnected from gas network. Installed air source heat pump, new radiators, water tank and underfloor heating, solar PV and battery. Homeowners have switched tariffs to maximise import/export with heatpump/solar & battery combination and are 'no dig' gardeners, growing fruit and vegetables.

11.30am, Sunday 15th Nov - Botley Road, Chesham. 1960s retrofit house with gas supply/meter removed. Insulated roof and storm guard paint on external brickwork. The home is all electric with solar panels, battery and heat pump, electric showers and EV charger and homeowners are net exporters of electricity over summer months. There are water butts and composting in the garden, where a mulching robot mower maintains the lawn!

1.30pm, Sunday 15th Nov - Leywood Close, Amersham: This house has solar panels and a battery, loft and cavity wall insulation. The owners drive an electric car and have a home EV charger.

You're welcome to book a tour(s) whatever stage you're at with your eco-home journey. You might be wondering what to do when it's time to replace your boiler, or interested in savings from solar power, maybe planning to renovate or extend your home, or interested in making your home more energy efficient, or other people's if you're in the profession.

These informal group tours with homeowners and BCE Energy Champions are fun and informative, and you'll have plenty of time to ask questions along the way.

ONLY 8 PLACES AVAILABLE PER HOME/VISIT.

Please email info@buckscommunityenergy.org if a home that you're interested in viewing is fully booked.

Buckinghamshire Community Energy is a community benefit society that provides free energy advice to help people save money on bills and to reduce carbon.

We've recently launched Energise Buckinghamshire, a unique community energy project and aim to make solar power more accessible for 200 homeowners, wiith no upfront cost.

Homeowners pay a monthly service fee for the solar panels and battery system, saving money on electricity bills from day one with free solar power and battery storage.

The systems are community-funded through a community share offer and individuals or organisations can invest from £100 to £100,000 for a target 5% return from the 4.2MW solar battery generation.

Find out more about Energise Buckinghamshire and apply or inves here: Energise Buckinghamshire – Buckinghamshire Community Energy (https://buckscommunityenergy.org/energise-buckinghamshire/)

Buckinghamshire Community Energy Limited is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under registration number RS008633.

Latimer Road, Chesham: 1920s detatched house. Retrofit home improvements over two years removing the chimney stack and fireplaces and disconnected from gas network. Installed air source heat pump, new radiators, water tank and underfloor heating, solar PV and battery. Homeowners have switched tariffs to maximise import/export with heatpump/solar & battery combination and are 'no dig' gardeners, growing fruit and vegetables.

Description supplied by the event organiser.