It seems like yesterday that Keepmoat workers descended on our home in Bristol, packed up belongings and stripped out old doors and kitchen and bathroom fittings. It's incredible to think of the extent of the refurbishments that have been achieved in such a short time frame - hats off to Keepmoat, SolarCentury and Knauf Insulation for working together to pull it off in such good time!

We had a lot of fun on our first day back in the house, with sponsors, parents, film crews and reporters all admiring the changes. We've only spent a few days back in the house now, but we're in no doubt that the house is a lot warmer and more comfortable in each room than we could have achieved prior to the refurb - no matter how much heating we may have wanted to use.

Despite the added insulation to the external walls, the rooms feel and function as if unchanged. All except the kitchen and dining room, which thanks to the improved warmth and draught exclusion to the ground floor we have finally knocked through, creating a wonderful, light and open living space which would previously have been too cold and draughty to enjoy. This is just one example of other home improvements we've managed to integrate into the eco-refurbishment process thanks to the skilled labour already on site and the overhaul of services already being undertaken, our drainage has been re-routed and electrical out-puts re-positioned just as we wanted, giving us a house of far greater personal and economic value.

The acid test of this refurbishment will be to see how our energy consumption and bill reductions materialize over the forthcoming months, and we'll be keen to communicate this information back to the Great British Refurb campaign and industry specialists so that our case study can help inform future low carbon regeneration projects. In the mean time, all we have to do is enjoy a slick new comfortable home.