Households open homes to share green energy tips

Dozens of households will be opening their homes to showcase their renewable energy installations and sustainable ways of living.

Members of the public can visit more than 50 properties across Dorset to see everything from solar panels to rainwater harvesting and ask the owners questions about how they made their homes more efficient.

Among those taking part is Alan Muncaster, who bought his Weymouth bungalow in 2010 and has been improving it ever since.

He said he had already recouped the money he spent on solar panels and, this year, broke even on his energy bills after selling excess electricity back to the grid.

When Muncaster moved into his two-bedroom home, it was heated by gas and had hardly any insulation.

It now has an EPC rating of A - the highest possible energy efficiency rating.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent's Dorset Breakfast show, he said: "It was a very basic UK house. It was cold, we had damp, we had poor air quality.

"We put in whole-house ventilation with heat recovery, insulation, solar panels.

"In 2021, we put the second set of solar panels on and our first house battery.

"In 2024, we had the whole of the outside of the bungalow insulated, and installed the air source heat pump, at which point we disconnected from gas."

Visitors to the participating homes will also be able to learn how to make low-cost changes to cut energy use, reduce waste and save money, as well as looking after nature in gardens.

Muncaster said: "When we started this 16 years ago, there was nobody you could talk to or employ to tell you what to do, so I've done a lot of research."

The Greener Homes event, run by Dorset Climate Action Network (DCAN), runs over two weekends, on 17-18 and 24-25 October.

Further information can be found on the DCAN website.