As part of Muswell Hill Sustainability Group's Green Open Homes season: an annual opportunity to see sustainable domestic energy in situ, be inspired by emissions & energy reducing measures and pick brains for lived experiences and expert advice …

Join us for a 50-minute tour and Q&A with both the builder, Ilir Billa from Billa Construction, and homeowner of an Edwardian, 1907 terraced house, which has been stunningly, fully retrofitted and is low energy, with features and installations including ....

Installations:

• Heat pump – 6kW Mitsubishi Ecodan PUZ-WM60VAA

• Solar panels – DMEGC DM440M6-B72HSW. Cell type: P type Mono-crystalline

• Under floor heating in living room, kitchen and stand-alone system in the bathroom (Stelrad Classic Rail)

• Stelrad radiators in the bedrooms, sized to provide adequate heating for spaces

• External wall insulation - 100mm PAVATHERM Isolair OEA wood fibre insulation boards mechanically fixed to brickwork, 10-15mm Baumit RK39 lime render, 230mm, existing solid brick wall. 12.5mm Gyproc FireLine OEA fire resistant plasterboard 2.5mm plaster skim

• Flat roof insulation - 150mm Kingspan Thermataper TT27 roof insulation fully adhered to roof deck, IKO EasySeal vapour control layer150mm

• Roof on bay insultation -- Ampatop Protecta breathable roofing membrane, 35mm PAVATHERM Isolair OEA wood fibre sheathing

• Under floor insulation kitchen - 120mm EcoTherm Eco-versal PIR insulation board

• Under floor insulation living room - 80-100mm existing timber floor joists with 150mm PAVAFLEX wood fibre insulation installed between Ampatop Aero breathable membrane

• Front walls insultation - 29mm Thermablok Aerogel ThermaSlim IWI Board. Allow for alkaline parge coat to brickwork and 3mm Limegreen Solo or similar approved lime based plaster skim for an airtight, breathable construction.

Other energy efficient / green features:

• Front door and all windows and double glazed and with Ampatop protect breathable roofing membrane, carried into window reveals and under sills and tape onto window frame.

Sustainable materials used:

• Sweet chestnut throughout house sustainably sourced

• Island in kitchen made from London Plane tree that was felled in Camden, provided by Fallen or Felled

• Tiles in bathroom made from recycled concrete

The works started in September 2024 and finished in July 2025.

THE HOMEOWNERS say …

"We asked the architect to 'green' the house, which included changing the heating to an air source heat pump, insulating the house thoroughly and having solar panels installed on the front roof. We did consider solar panels on the back return but, living there, we felt that did not get enough sun. We also have an electric hob so we have no gas now. We have also modernised the house, so there has been a lot done to the general fabric. It was quite a large project overall".

TOUR DATES available for this house …

Saturday 14th November: 10am and 12 midday

Sunday 15th November: 11am and 12.30pm

PLEASE NOTE …

Tours will begin promptly at their start times

Full addresses will be emailed to those with booked tickets the day before the tour

If fully booked, a waiting list can be joined, and notice given to the first names on it if tickets are released and reallocated. If you can no longer use your booked ticket, please cancel it through WeGotTickets, so that it can be re-homed.

ABOUT … Green Open Homes

For 14 years, Muswell Hill Sustainability Group has been running a three-week Green Open Homes season every November, including expert speaker meetings on a range of energy efficiency topics, and tours of a cross section of 10 – 15 local homes that have been future-proofed against heat, cold, energy bills and emissions, amongst other climate change threats. They range from quick fixes to major installations to entire builds, with the intention of offering unbiased, experienced and – where installers are present - expert advice; to inspire, inform and encourage visitors considering similar.

MHSG is pleased to be presenting Green Open Homes this year in collaboration with Muswell Hill & Fortis Green Association, a long-standing (78 years!), independent, non-partisan amenity society, committed to protecting the local environment and quality of life across Muswell Hill, Fortis Green, and Alexandra ward.

Description supplied by the event organiser.