Shed in a garden Voting has officially ended for shed of the year. The individual category winners and overall winner for this annual garden sheds competition will be announced during shed week, which begins on the 2nd July 2012.

This year the competition has been very diverse, we're enjoyed seeing all the possible configurations of the humble garden shed.

This years judges include Sarah Beeny, 'Uncle Wilco,' Neil Gaiman, Alex (Shedworking) and Jon Earl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most notable entrants

The Solar Shed

First, is the Solar Shed by Kevin Holland which drew inspiration from a bespoke piece created for one of his customers. She didn't want to spoil the look of her old cottage so asked for a garden structure to be built to support solar cells.

The shed itself supports eight 250 W solar panels which generate enough power for their needs. The system even works in the rain:

The Solar Shed has been fitted with several PIR activated solar lights so it lights up at night. Solar Shed is adjacent to Compost Lodge, Kevin's main shed which now acts as a small renewable energy workshop so my customers can come and try before they buy.

Listen to Kevin on BBC Radio Norfolk at around 51 minutes into the show.

When it come to the power generated and the uses for the Solar Shed the owner, Kevin 'The Shedman' Holland, had this to say:

“The shed uses more background electricity than the house so we get free electricity during the day. I have the freezers on timers so they go off for a few hours overnight so I don't use any power when I am not generating it! The money I receive from the Feed in Tariff pays for ALL my electricity in the house so I am in effect #without bills# for the rest of my life with regards to electricity! As I am in the Solar Trade, i have now set up shop at home so customers can come and visit and see the power of the sun before they actually buy the systems and as the shed is open beamed, they can see the fittings and wiring and all that goes with it. So after only 7 years, the Shed has become a focal part of our life. It is a hobby room, an office, a chill-out bolt hole and a place for rather unusual parties. It is also doing more than its fair share for the environment and the community.

To date the shed has been home to about 5 - 6 charity events where over £3,000 has been raised for McMillan, Help for Heroes, The Blue and Gold Trust, The Village Hall and other good causes. It has featured in the local paper, regional TV and is a talking point in the Village.”

This is a great design and could be easily scaled up or down to meet your needs. I personally, would like something smaller to act as a charging station for an electric motorbike.

Disco Shed

This offering was created by 'Peepshow Paddy' and is essentially a standard 8' by 6' garden shed with a twist, it's been mounted onto a caravan base – making it a highly portable DJ booth. This is a genius idea and the shed has featured at a number of Summer festivals including Reading (how did I miss that?), Big Chill and Latitude.

Frog & Cat

This creation by 'Mr frogncat' was originally a pigeon loft that was converted on 2000. It was entered into the pub-shed category, but it should be pointed out that this (like all entrants in the category) is not real licensed pub – it's just a bit of fun for the owner and his mates.

The walk to the shed would often involve dodging frogs, which the owners cat would love to chase –that's where the name stems from.
See the video below to experience the sheds light show for yourself.