Let's do it
|
|
|
|
FRINGE OFFERS |
 | |
|
|
|
FOOD ON FRIDAY |
|
| |
|
LIVE SPORT |
|
| |
|
DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK |
|
| |
| | WHAT'S ON | | | | |
| | GOING GREEN | | |
| | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | | | | |
| | COMMENT AND ANALYSIS | | | | | |
|
|
|
January: Wise up and warm up your home
If climate change doesn't have you convinced, then the 15 per cent hike in energy bills recently announced by the big electricity companies should have you reaching for the loft insulation.
Up to 15 per cent of the energy you pay for could be drifting straight out your loft, 33 per cent from your walls and, according to the Energy Savings Trust, a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions come from energy used in the home.
But a new report from Friends of the Earth says with a little bit of effort we can all reduce the impacts our homes have by up to 80 per cent.
Even in Brighton and Hove, where our typically rickety Victorian and Regency buildings are well known for heating the outside more than the inside, there is the opportunity to make some real savings.
Dr Sigrid Stagland and her partner Peter Kaufmann, both social scientists at the Science and Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, turned their draughty, conservation-area Victorian home into an eco-home causing 70 per cent fewer emissions than before, down to 3.8 tonnes a year from 14. They used a combination of roof, floor and wall insulation, solar panels for heating and hot water, placing more windows on the south of the house to absorb heat from the sun, and various water-conservation techniques.
It took them 13 months and £50,000, but making a start on insulating your home does not have to be so dramatic.
Adding a simple pair of lined curtains, or stopping the draught from under a door can be the beginning of your making a big difference.
There are a huge number of grants available as well. The recent launch of Warm Homes by Brighton and Hove City Council means every household in the city is now entitled to have their homes assessed for wall and loft insulation. Not only that, but everyone is also entitled to part of a £6 million pot of money to help put all these measures in place.
The most vulnerable people - the elderly, the disabled and parents of disabled children - can get 100 per cent grants, meaning they can get insulation saving them up to £170 a year on their heating bill, not to mention the knock-on environmental savings, for absolutely nothing.
Everyone else can get funding depending on their circumstances. Almost everyone will be able to get a £200 grant to help pay for £500 cavity-wall insulation.
In Brighton and Hove, one of the biggest barriers to good insulation is property ownership. A very high proportion of people in the city rent, which means not everyone is at liberty to make the changes they need.
However, Warm Homes offers the same service to landlords and their tenants as to homeowners. Martin Reid is head of housing strategy and development and private sector housing at Brighton and Hove City Council. He says: We are working in a joined-up way about this. We know landlords need to take action and we are working with them. Most would be very supportive of this.
Not only that, but they can help you negotiate with tricky landlords (although they admit if a landlord says no, there is not much they can do) and will gladly hold your hand through the entire process.
So where to start?
Check our top ten things to do
here and, if you are a homeowner, call Warm Homes on 0800 0480727. Or cut and paste the text below and send it to you landlord:
Dear landlord
Ref: MY PROPERTY
I am sure you have heard the news that the coming year is a crucial time for the environment. The price of oil is already at $100 a barrel and energy companies have announced a 15 per cent rise in prices.
I thought you may be interested to know you may be eligible for a complete grant to have wall and loft insulation installed on your property through Brighton and Hove City Council's new Warm Homes scheme.
You don't even have to do anything just give me permission to call them and they will assess your property and let me know what grants are available and how best to proceed. They will even help both of us through the process of having the insulation installed, if you decide to go ahead with it. If you prefer, you could call them yourself on 0800 0480727.
It might not sound like a lot but a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions come from energy used in the home and the Energy Savings Trust estimates households could save up to £170 a year on heating bills with the proper insulation installed.
Making these improvements would help to preserve our environment but it will also improve your property. It will make it easier to let again when I decide to move out and, not only that, if you do decide to sell, the Energy Performance Certificate for your HIP will be greatly improved.
Yours sincerely
Leave your suggestions about other ways to keep your home warmer below and if you've been taking part, let us know how you've got on.
1:41pm Monday 4th February 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: sam, brighton on 7:26pm Fri 11 Jan 08
I am all in favour of insulating your home but please be aware that cavity-wall insulation is not simple and can cause problems. The cavity allows ventilation, and blocking it with insualting materials may prevent this. Make sure your home (depending on its age and build) gets the right material for the job, or you can end up with condensation and other problems. Polystyrene beads are generally probably better than wool or foam.
I am all in favour of insulating your home but please be aware that cavity-wall insulation is not simple and can cause problems. The cavity allows ventilation, and blocking it with insualting materials may prevent this. Make sure your home (depending on its age and build) gets the right material for the job, or you can end up with condensation and other problems. Polystyrene beads are generally probably better than wool or foam.
Posted by: Sarah Lewis, Brighton on 9:30am Mon 14 Jan 08
Hi Sam
That's a very valid comment, thanks for posting it.
If the insulation is done through Warm Homes they will give your house a thorough assessment, done by qualified people, and let you know exactly what is and isn't appropriate for your building.
Sarah
Hi Sam
That's a very valid comment, thanks for posting it.
If the insulation is done through Warm Homes they will give your house a thorough assessment, done by qualified people, and let you know exactly what is and isn't appropriate for your building.
Sarah
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
