Finca Verde Cortijo

Retrofitting the Cortijo is important not to waste energy whilst providing for our basic needs.

Here's what we have already done:

• includes a pump
• powered from the grid
• provides hot water for a 4 / 5 people household
• includes a particulate filter

The hot water is used for household needs including a tap in the kitchen, a shower, a bathroom sink and a washing machine.

The pump enables the water to be pumped up from the household water deposit through the particulate filter and up through the solar water system.

The water is not potable.

The building does not have glass in the windows (at time of writing Nov 2022), it has metal shutters instead. In the warm months the shutters are closed when direct sunlight is coming into the building.

The back of the building is protected from being with it's back under street level.

The front of the building faces North East in the morning the kitchen and the lounge get some direct sunlight and the shutters are drawn shut.

The bedrooms face South south east, during the warmer months a curtain is drawn throughout the day to keep direct sunlight from coming into the room.

The main part of the building is directly under the roof which is exposed to direct sunlight all day. A small part is shaded by the solar panel.

The bathroom and the storage room are on a lower level, a flysheet is hung in the space between to shade the concrete thus cooling the area.

The terrace is shaded by two flysheets, cooling down the roof of the storage room and also the area in front of the lounge and spare bedroom windows.

For personal cooling we use frozen water bottles, we swim in the alberca and small USB low voltage fans.

Warm blankets on the sofa, warm clothes, warm house shoes, hot water bottles… tea.

Only when it is very cold a small space heater under a table with a thick tablecloth on top.

A warm duvet, good enough to sleep with even with the windows open on the coldest nights.

We don't heat spaces we heat people.

All the grey water is put into the land to feed the olives.

We don't use any bleach or other toxic chemicals.