A family remodelled their home to save money and electricity

Sunita Vellapally Sunita Vellapally
Reforma de vivienda con etiqueta de eficiencia energética A (Gran Alacant, Santa Pola), Novodeco Novodeco Scandinavian style houses
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This house has practically been modified in its entirety, achieving with its reforms the norms laid down for receiving Certification of Energy Efficiency – not an easy task as it is very difficult, because one needs to comply with the prescribed standards of energy consumption.

After the renovation, it managed to achieve energy consumption of 147W when all the internal and external lights of the house were used. With double insulation in ceilings and walls, it is well equipped for efficient heating in the winter season, while in summer, it has category-A air-cooling. Additionally, it has gas-fired heating, all LED lights, coated walls and concrete floors. 

Indeed, this house is a surprise! You will fall in love with it when you finish seeing it, and what’s more – it’s ideal for saving energy and electricity!

The house was completely demolished to adapt it to the needs of the family

Yes, it costs money at first, but it results in huge savings for years to come. Let's see how they achieved this.

Ripping out the floors, removing walls to make the structure simple… there began this remodelling project

It may seem that the aim of the demolition was to destroy everything built. However, it was broken down to facilitate redoing elements that would help it receive the certification. It was a rough, but effective job, this demolition.

This was the appearance of the house when it was being remodelled for a comprehensive renovation

During remodelling, you see how the existing coatings are completely removed, to improve them for the demanding conditions laid down for the certification. The wall finishes also have to meet the standards, to avoid wasting energy during the hot months and to retain the internal temperature in the winter months.

New areas were built

In the process of remodelling, new spaces were built at several levels of the house to meet the needs of its new owners. Of course, this was all done keeping in mind that each room in the interior or exterior areas of the home should meet the requirements for certification.

Other elements

For the new design, it was necessary to modify the spaces within the rooms, removing what was leftover of some walls and building new ones.

In this image, we can see that the construction of walls has started for partitioning spaces to form the new rooms that are required.

Special care for the outer wall: see why

The exterior walls were also modified to give it the necessary coating. With these modifications, the outer walls have achieved full compliance with the specifications for the energy saving, which was proposed when renovating this building.

After remodelling, the house has a large fence to protect it and the two-level house stands out

Here, we see the house with a sea view, and all its energy requirements in accordance with the strict standards, ready to be certified.

The second floor strictly complies with the requirement of double roofs to protect excessive heat and provide insulation. The terrace that looks out to the sea is protected with a transparent rail, ensuring that an unhindered view is enjoyed by those who use the space.

The new access

This is the exterior access door, surrounded by garden areas that border the open, but roofed, terraces, allowing air circulation and ventilation to the interiors.

This transition area between the exterior and interior of the house also allows the air to cool down before it enters the rooms, so that in summer it feels pleasantly cool and in winter, it prevents loss of internal heat.

Terrace and LED lighting

In this photo, you can see the installation of LED spotlights along the wall, and inside the house, in the ceiling of the living room.

These LED spotlights help significantly in reducing energy consumption and are one of the design elements, which help to control the costs by correctly illuminating areas, but with a notable saving in energy costs compared to normal bulbs.

We can also see the covered terrace that skirts the house as an additional element to prevent excess heating in the summer, and to avoid the loss of the internal heat in the winter. It’s a simple lightweight cover on a metal frame.

See 6 outdoor area ideas for the summer for inspiration on designing comfortable spaces outdoors.

The interiors: new floors and walls – now the house is completely open to the garden and the landscape

The finished house is a beauty! We will see all of it later. The living room and dining room are set in an open plan, with large windows that allow a view of sea and the coast – very interesting.

The furniture looks comfortable and is unpretentious, but harmonizes perfectly with the style and the requirement of energy-saving certification. The colours are mostly neutral, with textiles such as carpet and cushions carrying notes of brighter colours.

The glass shelf

On the wall of the room is a glass shelf, which because of the nature of the material, does not visually occupy space. It is the perfect piece of furniture, to display some of the things that are kept for remembrance. If it were made from another material, it would have taken over the space in the room.

Fusing the interior and exterior

This is a space to enjoy, to read and to rest… very intimate and pleasant. The furniture is comfortable and light brown, matching the colour of the wooden floor. The floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural light to fill the room.

The hall

The entrance of the house has a rustic touch due to the main door, the wood furniture, the textile wall hanging and the mirror frame. All these succeed in creating an impression of a rustic holiday home.

The modern kitchen

The use of the black, combined with steel and a granite countertop, results in a very sober but modern style in the kitchen.

The high cabinets in black and the bell-like steel hood dominate the kitchen furniture. The hood with its tubular shape is a novelty.

A corner for reading

The decor of this corner has a lot of personality. The memorabilia on the walls, the Art Deco style lamp, the combination of colours in the upholstered chairs with those of the prints, wall clocks and old engravings, gives a touch of magic to this space. It’s very cosy!

A special wall

Niches on the wall, to place sculptures or other works of art, are illuminated, adding another excellent feature to the decoration.

In this wall, this detail is very significant since it marks the boundary between the living room and the reading corner of the house.

The lighted staircase

This staircase has the advantage of each step being illuminated, giving a special shine to its wood finish.

It’s a detail that makes it very functional and safe, since you can see every step that you take due to the lights included on the edge of each step.

The master bedroom

The bed is covered with dark-coloured textiles that contrast the colour of the wall. The textile has a lot of handmade textures, which imitates a blanket. The bright carpet on the floor adds to the cosiness. The wooden bed is very simple with practically no headboard.

The children’s bedroom

Pink and white give this bedroom an identity. The natural wood furniture adds to the decoration and has colourful details such as the cushion and the artwork hanging on the background wall.

Bathroom

The light beige on the walls helps to increase the illumination in this room. It has a modern cabinet, under the white countertop.

The mirror catches the eye because of its antique looking golden frame, which resembles a work of art, especially with the elongated picture light over it, like those used to highlight paintings.

Shower with tile covering

Another interesting detail in the bathroom is this wall of mini mosaic tiles in a range of beige and gold tones, which complement the colour on the rest of the walls.

We go out again to see the patio and find a sensational barbecue!

In one corner of the patio is the wood-fire barbecue, which, while not in use, is a very striking decoration.

The rustic grill, with storage shelves underneath for wood, does not have large dimensions but looks great in that corner.

We see attention to detail in the works of art made in wood with vivid colours to adorn the exterior walls of the house in the garden areas. Native plants of the region are grown in the garden, with small stones that cover the earth around them.

A little fountain in the garden

You cannot miss the soothing sound of water falling from the fountain – another detail to get closer to nature.

Made of cement, the fountain pours out into a channel filled with rustic stones that surround the trees in the area that borders the house.

Finally, the terrace on the second floor with a view of the sea

This balcony with an excellent view, has artificial grass as its floor covering, besides comfortable furniture to enjoy the summer. The artificial grass, brings the advantage of easy maintenance and has become a modern solution for beautifying terraces and roofs, and it’s durable too.

Hiring a professional to remodel your home can ensure that you get all your requirements incorporated in the renovated house.

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