Ecocabin was featured in the July 2006 edition of Green Hotelier. The full text of the article follows.


Ecocabin, Ludlow, Shropshire, UK

Situated in a peaceful valley in the South Shropshire hills, Ecocabin offers contemporary self-catering holiday accommodation for up to four people. Constructed from native woods and reedboard, the cabin is very well-insulated using wool from British sheep. In addition to its energy-efficient design and the use of building materials that require less energy in their manufacture and transport, the cabin is run almost entirely on renewable energy. Hot water is provided by solar thermal heating and a wood pellet stove heats the interior. Electricity is purchased from a renewable electricity supplier via the national grid. The only non-renewable energy used is the minimal amount of bottled gas needed for cooking.

An immersion heater can be used to boost the water temperature for showers and baths on days when there has been insufficient sun. Ecocabin's owner, Kate Grubb, has installed a special panel in the living room which enables guests to see the current water temperature and calculate how long they should leave the immersion heater switched on. This inexpensive solution to help guests save electricity is one that could be used almost anywhere. As Kate says: "Just because the electricity is renewable there is no reason to waste it." Finance permitting, Kate plans to install a 1kW wind turbine and solar PV in the future.