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It was George
Monbiot in his book "Heat" who introduced us to the concept
of the "warm air tunnel" when he wrote these words ".....our
homes act as warm air tunnels; they keep us warm almost
incidentally, as the heat pours past us and into the street."
Our homes can achieve an average temperature of 19 degrees
without burning any fossil fuels whatsoever. In fact,
keeping a house warm in northern Europe is so ridiculously
easy that it is almost insane the way our homes are so
poorly designed and insulated. Demand for energy in the UK
rose by 7.3% n the last 13 years but it rose by 19% in our
homes in the same period. A study by the Union of Concerned
Scientists in the USA quickly and easily proved that the
biggest single contribution that anyone could make to
reducing their Carbon Emissions (after transport) was
through reduction in the energy used to heat and light our
homes. 31% of all energy consumed in the UK is consumed in
our homes. 82% is used just for space and water heating.
This has risen 36% since 1970. In 2002 10% of UK homes had
no insulation whatsoever.
The Building
Codes in Sweden and Norway are so much better than those in
the UK that they use only one quarter of the energy that the
average UK house does. Those are Scandinavian countries, ie,
they are cold. Experiments with a "Passivhaus" design in
Germany involves no heating or cooling systems. Instead good
design, insulation, sunlight and body-heat contribute to
internal temperatures higher than the average UK internal
temperature. They run on just one-quarter of the energy that
a UK house uses.
So, if you have
very little money to spare and want the most cost-effective
way to save fossil-fuels, then fit insulation. In fact,
max-out on insulation. You can buy great big insulation bags
and fit them in your loft in a few minutes. Seal those
drafty doors and letterboxes. Get double-glazing. Insulate
your walls. Hang thick curtains and actually draw them at
night. Only when you do all of these things (at relatively
little cost) are you ready to graduate onto the bigger
things - like solar water heating. This fact is already
known to local councils who see their grant money going much
further if their Tax Payers simply spent a little on
insulation first. Indeed, none will even give you a grant
for energy saving features until you have insulated your
house. Very wise. But it won't get you pictured with
Leonardo di Caprio sometime soon. |
