HOME owners in the Cardigan area who are pioneering new energy-efficient houses are keen to showcase their ideas to a wider audience.

They will be opening up their houses for the Energy Pioneers Home Tour on Saturday, November 10.

The tour aims to demonstrate that this part of Wales is not only a hotbed for people building funky low impact “Lammas” style homes, but also for those trying to revolutionize more conventional ideas of home as well.

It gathers inspirational home owners who have made great steps to realize their dreams of having properties that are highly energy efficient, virtually self-sufficient for energy production and great places to live too.

Between them, the homes show a real array of inspirational methods for maximizing energy. The tour will show the now common solar photovoltaic panels, but then so much more, including on and off grid - renewable tied - home battery electricity storage, small scale wind generation, thermal mass storage, smart energy controllers, heat pumps, home island technology, mechanical heat recovery ventilation, passivhaus and heat accumulator tanks.

There will be lots of ideas and systems on display which will give inspiration to those who have those same solar panels and want to get the most out of them, but this tour will also be of interest to anyone who wants to see a future where energy starts and stays at home and where energy is delivered, not through the grid, gas main, coal or oil truck, but instead simply through the rays of the sun or the wind’s breeze.

Steve, one of the hosts on the tour, previously worked attempting to get a local authority to embrace energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has enjoyed transforming his own house because it has brought together what he worked so hard to implement within his job.

With his own house, he has not needed to spend an age in meetings convincing people of the importance of energy improvements, he has just been able to get on with all the things he has always wanted to do.

The tour starts at 10am in Rhosygilwen at the Ty Solar ultra-low energy affordable home adjacent to the main car park. Minibus transport will be provided from there, courtesy of Green Dragon Buses, to visit the other energy pioneer homes in the area.

The tour aims to return to Rhosygilwen by 4.30pm. This is a free event and a free lunch will be provided as part of the day.

As well as the home owners, this tour has been made possible by the volunteer-managed community group Cwm Arian Renewable Energy through their Supporting Resilient Renewable Communities project.

Places on the tour are very limited so please book through the Cwm Arian Renewable Energy’s Facebook Page (CAREnewable/facebook.com). Further information can be gained by calling Daniel Blackburn on 01239 698768