
It looks like a fairly ordinary detached house but this could be the most energy-efficient home in Britain - costing at most a miserly £15 a year to run.

Colin Usher designed the house in West Kirby, Wirral, to keep the bills as low as possible for himself and his wife, Jenny.

Amazingly, the pair now pay less than the price of an average takeaway for their year's supply of energy for heating, lighting, cooking and hot water.

Colin Usher, pictured with his wife, Jenny, designed his eco home to cost as little as possible to run. They pay less than the price of an average takeaway for their year's supply of energy for heating, lighting, cooking and hot water

This graphic shows some of the features that Mr Usher used to ensure his bills are rock bottom

The house, in West Kirby, Wirral, looks like an average family home - but beneath the surface are cleverly thought out energy-saving measures

The house is designed to maintain an even temperature year round by using insulated concrete and a hi-tech heat pump that takes in heat from the outside air and uses it to warm the house

Mr Usher, who has been an architect for 35 years and is a director at Liverpool-based John McCall Architects, recently won an award for the house which was the winner in the Domestic New Build Category at the 2015 Buildings and Energy Efficiency Awards

The total cost of the build - including purchasing the land and demolishing the existing property - was £440,500, which is the going rate for similar four-bedroom properties in the area.

The house is designed to maintain an even temperature year round by using insulated concrete and a hi-tech heat pump that takes in heat from the outside air and uses it to warm the house. Solar panels keep the electricity bills to a minimum.

Mr Usher, who has been an architect for 35 years and is a director at Liverpool-based John McCall Architects, recently won an award for the house which was the winner in the Domestic New Build Category at the 2015 Buildings and Energy Efficiency Awards.

The total cost of the build - including purchasing the land and demolishing the existing property - was £500,000, which is the going rate for similar four-bedroom properties in the area

Architect Mr Usher said that he had 'always had a huge interest in energy efficiency' and that building the house gave him 'the chance to test out a few theories'

Mr Usher said: 'It dispels the myth that an eco-driven home needs to be expensive and radically different in appearance'

Owner and designer Mr Usher said that the energy-saving measures have not been put in place at the expense of comfort

Mr Usher explains in this diagram the major heat-loss issues that he had to tackle while designing the house

THE HEAT OF THE MATTER: WHY COLIN USHER'S HOME IS SO EFFICIENT Mr Usher told MailOnline that he was 'very proud of the technical aspects of the house', which he says is more or less hermetically sealed, but uses pumps and a clever design to keep fresh air circulating. 'All the risks we took in making this work, have paid off,' he added. Here are the key features that ensure he never has to pay more than £15 a year to run it. It's built of concrete to retain heat. The house only loses one degree of heat per day when the heating is off

There's an air-to-water heat pump for hot water

Hot water from air-to-water pump heats floor

No heating to upper floor

Exceptional insulation throughout

Insulation wraps round in front of each of the window and door frames

Triple glazing

Ventilation system sucks warm moist air out of bathrooms, utility room and kitchen – blows fresh air into all the living spaces

A heat exchanger warms incoming air

The ground floor rooms are tall so warm air rises to warm floors above

South facing solar panels generate 3,338kW hours/year

This electricity is fed back to the house to run appliances, the heating and hot water production Advertisement

He said building the home was the 'culmination of a life's work' of designing energy-efficient homes.

Mr Usher said: 'I suppose you could say that it's what I've been working on for my whole career.

'I've always had a huge interest in energy efficiency and because I was building it for myself and my wife, rather than a client, it gave me the chance to test out a few theories I had, which thankfully paid off.

'It's not been done at the expense of comfort - it has high-end finishes and it's got lovely high ceilings and big rooms. Everyone that visits says it's lovely and warm.

'It is very comfortable to live in and its appearance is not incongruous with surrounding houses.

'It dispels the myth that an eco-driven home needs to be expensive and radically different in appearance.'

The cost of the house is broken down as follows: The original property was worth £192,500, it cost £6,000 to demolish it, disconnect services and set up others, £240,000 to construct it and external works cost £2,000, bringing the total to £440,500.

Mr Usher added: 'A recent valuation of the house shows that it is worth what it cost to buy the land, demolish the previous property and build the new house. However if one takes into account the £2,500 per year saving on energy costs and the fact that there will be no significant repairs and maintenance required over the next 15 to 20 years, this can be seen as a very sound investment, along with being a comfortable and desirable place to live.'

Mr Usher explained that he believes the house blends in perfectly with its surrounds

This image shows one of Mr Usher's stylish bedrooms, with a chest of drawers and wardrobe fitting snugly into an alcove

The bedrooms have been furnished in a country style and are kept toasty thanks to Mr Usher's clever design

The house features plain white walls, eye-catching photography and sleek glass banisters - plus homely wooden stairs