By harnessing the power of nature’s seasons ...
we can reduce, in our own small way, our environmental footprint.
The Ségala is an agricultural landscape characterised by its rolling hills and wooded valleys, criss crossed by small streams which feed the Aveyron river.
The Moulin has been carefully developed and converted to fit in unobtrusively into this rural setting. The buildings are built of local stone and are mainly tiled using the traditional ardoise slates. Native woods feature extensively, most notably in the exposed beams and the library.
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We are committed to accommodating our guests in a sustainable way, as we believe that we have a responsibility to protect the natural environment in which we are fortunate enough to live. Our environmental focus extends beyond the actual buildings themselves to the garden and land surrounding the Moulin. We grow much of the vegetables and salads we serve in our own kitchen garden or 'potager' which we cultivate in line with organic principles, without the use of artificial pesticides or fertilizers. |
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The barn in which the bedrooms, library, living and dining rooms are situated has been converted to be as energy efficient as possible. All the windows are double glazed to a very high specification and the walls and ceilings insulated to keep the heat in during the winter and out during the summer. As a result, it has not been necessary to install noisy and environmentally damaging air conditioning. All the lighting, where possible, uses energy efficient low wattage bulbs.
The Moulin owes its existence to Limayrac's particular combination of topography, hydrology and climate and although it no longer uses its waterpower to mill cereals we want to maintain a connection with its original purpose.
Water:
Water has the capacity to produce clean, free energy in contrast to most modern forms of energy which are polluting and increasingly expensive. We are currently evaluating the electricity generating potential of the mill stream with a view to installing some small turbines late in 2009. These turbines should be able to generate around 1kW of power during the wetter months and it is planned to use this electricity to provide the Moulin with hot water.
In addition to the mill leat and the stream which border the Moulin on two sides, we are lucky enough to also have our own spring and well. Water from the well supplies the old mill house and we are exploring if it has sufficient capacity to sustainably supply the guest facilities.
Hot water and the energy for the central heating are supplied by an energy efficient air source heat pump which provides an average of 3kW of heat for each 1kW of electricity used.
During the winter months and in the evenings during spring and autumn a large wood burning stove heats the library using wood from both our own land and local forests.
The stove we have chosen is very energy efficient and can generate up to 12kW of heat - more than enough to keep the magnificent six metre high space cosy on even the coldest of days.