Sustainability at Cwmcroiddur
Our intention when we took over Cwmcroiddur was to make the place as sustainable as possible. We have insulated and draft-proofed wherever we can. We have installed low energy lightbulbs. We recycle everything we can, compost uncooked food waste and we use as little heating oil as possible (by burning locally grown firewood which is almost carbon neutral).
When we arrived here in 2006, the heating used oil and propane boilers and electric storage heaters, there was no draft stripping on windows and doors, the insulation in roof spaces was minimal and there was no access to the woodland area to use waste wood for heating. Since then we have replaced the electric heaters in Croiddur Barn with a highly efficient Grant condensing oil boiler (we hope to eventually use no heating oil), Barcud Cottage and Cwmcroiddur Farmhouse are heated mainly with wood - oil heating is used when we are away. The solar hot water system for the Barn provides most of the hot water through the summer and the hot water system for the Cottage and Farmhouse uses wood, with oil as a backup, with the plumbing already installed for solar.
We hope to be able to install wood-fired heating for all the buildings at Cwmcroiddur, using efficient 'clean-burn' systems. These are expensive, so it's a long journey to that point. Also we are looking at the possibility of using the Nant Croiddur stream to generate electricity for use here. Again, the costs will be substantial, but we think it will be worthwhile.
We would like to promote Cwmcroiddur as a low carbon place to stay - a place that recognises the clean and unspoilt surroundings, and the wider need to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and other irreplaceable resources.
We hope that our visitors will help us with this. We wouldn't want to promote a 'hair shirt' approach - after all – our visitors come here to enjoy themselves, but if we can reduce our impact on our environment it will be better for everyone around now and those who come after us.