As representatives from 190 countries work out how to reduce global warming at the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, one pensioner is already paving the way to save the planet – and everyone’s bank balance.

Dino Reardon powers his small terraced home almost entirely from wind and solar energy.

The wind turbine and home-made solar panels in his garden, the five solar panels on his roof and energy-saving devices in his home means he only pays about £30 a year in electricity bills.

The 78-year-old of The Grove, in Skipton, has taken seven years to perfect his system through trial and error and reckons it could now be used in any home.

So he has written it all down and drawn diagrams to prove his point.

“I’m getting free energy 24 hours a day. It’s taken a long time and I’ve made mistakes and wasted some money, but I knew I would get there in the end,” said Mr Reardon.

“I’ve spent about £4,000 over the years but I think I’ve got it right especially for my home.”

He said the news of his work has already spread far-and-wide and he has been contacted by several energy companies, including one from South Africa who wanted to come and “pick my brains”.

“But I would have anything to do with them. I’ve not done this to make money but I’m prepared to show people how it’s done.

“I’m trying to show people how anyone can be environmentally friendly. I believe this is the only way forward for people in the future,” said Mr Reardon.

He is especially proud of the device he has set up on his wind turbine which enables it to turn even faster.

The power he produces is stored in two batteries in a powerhouse rigged up to a wiring system in his kitchen.

A series of switches allows him to direct current to different appliances when he needs to.

And he reckons the system needs virtually no maintenance.

His personal powerhouse has been up and running for more than a year – long enough for him to calculate his savings.

The champion pigeon fancier originally bought his wind turbine to drive just the lights in his birds’ coop.

But as he got more interested in saving power and living a more eco-friendly life, he expanded the system and since 2001 has been working to free himself as much as he can from the national grid.