Orchard Corner is a 3-storey eco-house overlooking the town of Totnes. It is heated with a ground source heat pump and has 2 boreholes sunk to a depth of 25 meters. These utilise the latent heat in the ground to heat water.

 

A heat pump then boosts the temperature in order that it can be run through the underfloor heating.

                 

The House was dug into the ground to create 2 additional bedrooms, bathroom and plant room. From the road, however the house appears to be only 2-storey.

The Corner Windows are a key feature of this house, making best use of the panoramic views over the town. The window frames were factory finished in a warm grey colour both internally and externally. This colour tones with the shiplap cedar cladding and off-white painted render.

A Heat Recovery System then supplements this by taking hot air from the kitchen and bathroom extract cleaning it and then re circulating it into living and bedroom areas. 

Grey Water Recycling stores any rain water run-off from the house and uses it to flush WCs, washing machines and outside tap. 

The Timber Frame to the ground floor and first floor of the house is insulated with 150mm "Warmcell" which is recycled newspaper.