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The story behind the project
Pleasantly surprising low running costs
The owners have lived in their ceramic house for 14 years. Thanks to an energy-efficient design and the option to complete some work themselves, they gained an affordable home with total monthly energy and water costs of approximately €72.
The price of our 10x8m house was very affordable for us, partly because we already owned the land and ordered it with an unfinished interior and a turnkey exterior, as my husband could do much of the work himself. We are now in our fourth year of living in the house and the running costs are almost unbelievable. I looked at our actual expenses over 3 years: gas for heating, hot water and cooking averages €24.27 per month. In addition to gas heating, we also use a wood-burning stove. When we use it, we do not use the gas heating, and the wood costs us about €9.00 per month. Electricity for lighting and the water pump for garden irrigation, as well as keeping an older summer kitchen warm, averages €30.82 per month. Water costs for our two-person household are €7.69 per month, making the total: 24.27 + 9.00 + 30.82 + 7.69 = €71.78/month.
