Footballer Rio Ferdinand is building a green home with the smallest carbon footprint possible. He has purchased a two acre plot on the border of Kent and southeast London, just a few miles from the London estate where he spent his childhood. The house will be around 12,000 sq ft in size and will incorporate cutting edge green technology and he hopes that one day the home will be his permanent base for his family once he retires from the game.
Rio Ferdinand is ambassador for the energy company E.on,they sponsor the FA Cup and encourage householders to reduce their energy use which will not only help the environment but also save money for their customers. Ferdinand explains that whilst he was having meetings with E. on advisors he learnt about energy-aware projects that they were involved in and so the footballer decided to incorporate these into his house building project. Once involved he describes himself as being a convert to green issues, the advisors that he had met worked alongside the project manager for his house to incorporate green technology into the build.
Ferdinand had photovoltaic cells instead of solar panels on the roof, low energy lighting and green roofs grown from sedum plants. The house is thought to be a traditional Georgian farmhouse style at the front and more contemporary detailing at the back. It will have a swimming pool,triple garage and of course a gym but will be kitted out with the best energy-efficient technology that money can buy.The house will have ground source heat pumps; they will draw warmth from the earth and will be used to heat the house. People who have used this technology before have mentioned how dramatically their heating bills fell once installed. The windows will be very large in the house and will be coated with a reflective film, the purpose of this is to stop heat escaping in the winter and in the summer it helps to cool the house. The house will have a combined heat and power system whereby homeowners can sell excess power that their home generates back to the national grid. The large gardens will be watered using large tanks which harvest rainwater.
As Ferdinand became more aware of energy saving ways he adapted his Alderley Edge home to incorporate more green technology too. He has installed electricity monitors and energy light bulbs and has had his Manchester restaurant Rosso have the green once over too. Simply by becoming more aware of the green technologies has made adapt his homes to a greener way of living. Even if you don't have a footballers salary there are changes that everyone can make to make their home that much greener.
