Frequently Asked Questions

Some of the things we get asked about.

How do I do a green audit?
The name of the chap who conducted our green audit in the first series of INEBG was Donnachadh McCarthy. His book, ‘Saving the planet without costing the earth‘ can be bought via his website www.3acorns.co.uk. If you contact him he may even agree to do an audit for you - rates are very reasonable considering the planet is at stake! Alternatively, you can request Dick, James or Jim to conduct an audit. See the contacts page.

Is there a book?
Absolutely! ‘Its not easy being green‘ is on the shelves now in paperback, but it‘s probably cheapest to get it from Amazon.
The book includes some details not covered in the series and we have added some links to the individuals and organisations we bought items from - you may find them useful.
Please note - most of the ideas we try in Cornwall can be applied to any house.

I missed part of the programme is there going to be a DVD?
Sorry it looks unlikely that there will be a DVD of the series. The BBC doesn‘t tend to produce them for series like ours. If you search the forum, you may find details somewhere of how you can download the series, but that has nothing to do with us.

Do you live there?
You better believe it! We have invested our life juices in this place and, yes, we do have a whopping great mortgage!

Did the BBC pay for it?
I should be so lucky! I was paid as a presenter but they did not contribute financially towards any of the work done on the house or any of the items we bought.
That said, the production crew were a great bunch and we made them join in when they were not carrying the camera!

The waterwheel looks wrong?
I know the waterwheel looks like it‘s going the wrong way, but we deliberately make the wheel as big as possible for the drop we had. That means when the stream is in flood sometimes the bottom can be in water and rather than have the water having to come back on itself from under the wheel (to flow away) we went for the wheel turning anti-clockwise.
The aqueduct is just about level so we don‘t get much kinetic energy in the water; it‘s all about using all the potential energy when the water drops through the ‘trap door‘ onto the top of the wheel between 11 and 12 o‘clock...
Clear as mud?
Its a lot easier when you can see a diagram - you should be able to check it out in the book.

Can we visit?
Sorry, we are inundated with requests, but don‘t have the luxury of being able to spend lots of time chatting to visitors - we still have to earn a living to pay the mortgage.
We do run courses to share our experience and show people what we have done - but they cost!!

What is permaculture?
Permaculture means different things to different people but at its very heart is the idea of producing a natural, sustainable ecosystem within your buildings, gardens and land.
The idea is to produce a web of beneficial relationship such that everything you plant is highly productive without needing the level of input associated with conventional agriculture.
For example a wood containing trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and climbers needs no tending and only relies upon sunshine and rain, yet it produces more biomass than an equivalent area of wheat that actually needs to be ploughed, harrowed, sowed, fertilised, weeded, and pest and disease treatment.
The big trick is to produce a sustainable ecosystem that maximises the relationship between plants, physical features and meets your needs.

How does the greenhouse heat sink work?
Some details are in the book, but half the adventure is working it out for yourself and thereby customising your solution. All you need to know is:

• Our heat sink is filled with imploded glass - we used bottles from various parties and the local pub - imploded courtesy of ‘Krysteline‘. You can use other materials.

• Big hole - we lined it with polystyrene from old packaging.

• Pipes were standard waste pipes for under sinks etc.

• Fan was a small 12V computer fan from a local market; cost £1.20 and placed in a box made of scrap wood.

• We used a 12V deep cycle leisure battery.

• A small 11w solar panel and charge controller.

• Old chimney cowl for the air to be pushed out the glass.

Air sucked down from the apex heats the broken glass under the floor.
Fan runs 24 hours a day.
As the greenhouse cools, the cooler air is still pumped through the glass, but when it comes out through the cowl, at floor level, the glass has warmed it so a constant supply of warmer air is now being pumped through.