Take a look around this luxurious home in the heart of Dunfermline.
Ground source heating, insulation and solar panels make it cheap to run but it is the space, luxury and views that make it special.
Very few houses make money for their owners.
Turaideach just may be an exception. As well as warming the home, its ground source heat pump will earn around £25,000 from the Renewable Heat Incentive over the lifetime of the scheme.
Andy and Susan McFarlane bought the plot on which the house stands in 2010.
“We had always dreamed of designing our own house and this plot was perfect for us – right in the heart of the town but in a secluded little spot,” says Susan, 50.
The house sits up a dead-end lane between Dunfermline High Street and the town’s historic Pittencrieff Park.
The couple decided early on they wanted to make their home as environmentally friendly as possible.
“I’m an engineer and I like learning how these things work,” Andy, 58, explains. “People talk about solar panels and ground source heat pumps but it all starts with insulation.
There’s no point generating renewable heat if it just leaks out of the building.”
The house was constructed using SIPs – structural insulated panels – and the McFarlanes paid extra to upgrade the already high levels of insulation. A mechanical ventilation system connected to a heat exchanger brings fresh, warm air into the building.
The ground source heat pump provides underfloor heating throughout the house and solar panels on the garage roof help keep bills down.
The centrepiece of the house is a stone-clad turret that stretches from floor to attic level.
Inside, the curve of the turret is mirrored, with the walls curving onto the landing – an effect that gives more space and a pleasing symmetry, even if it caused headaches for the plasterers and joiners.
The kitchen is at the heart of the home. A large, granite-topped island creates a centrepiece, while behind a feature stone pillar is a snug with some comfortable chairs.
The living room has folding doors out to the garden decking. On the first floor are four bedrooms, including the stunning master suite. The same size as the living room, it has opaque wall-length folding doors to the en suite bathroom and dressing room.
Perhaps the most amazing room is the attic family room, which has glorious views across the Forth from its curved turret windows.
The double garage is insulated to the same standard as the house and has a self-contained one-bedroom flat above it. The wrap-around garden features a hot tub, off street parking and an electric car charging point.
The couple are selling Turaideach to finance their ambition to launch their own business together.
“It’s been a wonderful home for us,” Susan says. “Ideally we would find a project that needed some work doing and where we can add value.
“Nothing like this though – I think you only have one project this size in you.”
Turaideach, 1 Comely Park Lane, Dunfermline, is on sale with Savills for o/o £825,000.
Correction: An earlier version of this feature stated income from the Renewable Heat Incentive and Feed In Tariff amounted to £25,000 per year. In fact this sum is £25,000 over the lifetime of the scheme. We apologise for the error.
