Rachel, 28, and her partner Marco, 27, will be putting the energy-efficiency measures at the Ferndale Rise property through their paces over the next 18 months to understand how the home performs following the deep retrofit.
The Cambridge extensively modernised the three-bedroom 1930s property – improving its Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating from D to A – to showcase the options available and inspire more homeowners to make energy upgrades to their own homes.
Rachel, Mortgage Case Assistant at The Cambridge, said:
“We are so grateful to have been selected to live in Ferndale, the house is just amazing. Moving from Norwich, we feel very lucky to be back in Cambridge and closer to family, friends and of course work!
"We are very excited to live in such a stylish and energy efficient house, and to find out more about living day to day with things like an air source heat pump, solar panels and rainwater harvester in a really well insulated property.”
With 29 million UK homes in need of energy efficiency improvements before 2050 – including an estimated 250,000 in Cambridgeshire alone – Ferndale Rise highlights The Cambridge’s commitment to building sustainable communities and helping homeowners tackle the UK’s housing decarbonisation challenge.
Data The Cambridge gathers over the next 18 months will provide valuable insights into how the retrofit is impacting the property’s overall performance, demonstrating real-world benefits of sustainable home upgrades and future learning opportunities.
Carole Charter, Chief Commercial Officer at The Cambridge, said:
“We’re excited to see how all the innovative energy saving measures we’ve put into Ferndale Rise during our deep retrofit will perform with Rachel and Marco living there over the next 18 months.
“We hope their Ferndale journey will inspire homeowners to make improvements to their own home that work within their own budget and circumstances, as we recognise there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to retrofitting.”
From insulation and ventilation improvements to renewable energy installations, Ferndale Rise now removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits.
Key upgrades include:
- Insulation: Internal, external, cavity, roof, and floor.
- Airtightness measures: Liquid membrane applied to walls, floors, and ceilings.
- Air Source Heat Pump: Replaces original gas boiler for low-carbon heating.
- Underfloor heating: Wet system on both floors powered by the heat pump.
- Mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR)
- Solar PV: 10 panels installed on the house and 2 on the structural insulated panel (SIP) building in the garden.
- Triple-glazed windows and doors
- Rainwater harvesting: 3,000L underground tank supplying toilets, washing machine, and garden.
- Sedum roof: On side extension for insulation and biodiversity.
Ferndale Rise has been a finalist and highly commended across six major retrofit and greener living industry awards categories since work was completed in summer 2025.
The property also featured in Cambridge Carbon Footprint’s Open Eco Homes programme as part of The Cambridge’s aim to educate and inspire homeowners.
