The Well-being of Future Generations
at Philbeach and Trehill Farms
Philbeach Farmhouse is Grade 2 listed ( the conical chimney being of particular interest), CADW would not allow double glazed windows to be installed in any part of the original building. We insulated the floors with a layer of volcanic stone ‘maltesers’, the roof space with sheep wool and the walls and ceilings were rendered internally and externally with lime, with horse hair added for its thermal properties. We were concerned about condensation on the windows and after much research, advice and several site visits this was judged to be the best solution and on the whole has worked well; the house is able to breathe. To conserve the heat generated further we installed wooden shutters which are extremely effective.
8 solar hot water panels were installed during the initial renovation on the roof of the Hall House sitting room, the hot water is topped up by pre-heated water from the heat pumps and an immersion heater as required.
In 2013 we installed a 15kw wind turbine to run the heat pumps, the immersion heaters and the electricity supply to the house.
More recently we have installed 14 PV solar panels on the south facing roof of the old cart house which will also power the heat pumps, particularly when there is a lack of wind power.
Our guests now have the facility to use a Zappi Electric Car Charging Point, powered by the heat pump and wind turbine which we run on an honesty system. Let us know how many units you have used and the amount is payable during your stay.
Battery power storage is the next planned phase and is in the discussion stage.
We are doing our best to try and reduce our and our guests’ carbon footprint and while your first thought might be that we are producing lots of free electricity, you will then realise that all of these systems take investment and require ongoing specialist maintenance.
We actively farm Philbeach in conjunction with Trehill Farm, two miles away, where we live and are National Trust tenants. Conservation work alongside productive agriculture has always been important to us; undertaking The Marloes Coast Project and managing Marloes Mere in consultation with National Trust and National Resources Wales.
Winter water storage, at both farms, for irrigating growing crops during the summer months is vital to our commercial farming enterprises.
In collaboration with BRICS (a project to improve water, nutrient and habitat management on farms) we have installed a new filtration pond system to the south of the buildings at Philbeach to clean storm water and run off from the cattle shed before it enters the water course. During this landscaping we will create native coastal habitat for all and for the enjoyment of our guests.
The farming business has been a LEAF (Linking Environment & Farming) member since 2007.
We are proud of what we have achieved so far and always open to ideas and conversation on what we could do better to improve quality of life now and for the future generations.