can my builder make me eco friendly?
There are a lot of misconceptions about what it takes to reduce your carbon footprint and we hope to dispel some of these myths in this short simple guide. If you thought that you had to have wind turbines on your roof next to the solar panels to do your bit for the environment then think again. The truth is that you can cut down your fuel consumption and carbon emissions in very simple and cheap ways.
Insulate The Roof. Up to a third of a home’s heat can escape through the roof if it’s uninsulated. According to the Building Research Establishment, if you were to put down 250mm of mineral wool insulation in an uninsulated loft, you’d save £70 to £270 a year on fuel bills. The payback period is 2-3 years . Yes it really is that simple and that cost effective.
Insulate The Walls Like roofs, walls can also leak up to a third of the heat produced in your home. The government is very keen on cavity wall insulation at the moment, and grants are available. You can also insulate the inside face of the walls with insulation backed plasterboard. With this technique 365 Developments had made the walls of hundred year old terrace houses as energy efficient as the walls of modern houses!!! The disadvantage is that you have to alter electrics, skirtings and you lose a few inches off the size of the room. In reality you will losing about 6" of the room size to achieve these types of results. A far more dramatic solution is to clad the exterior of walls in purpose made cladding systems. The same width of insulation is more effective on the exterior face of a wall than the interior face so thinner insulation is required for exterior cladding. Again on an existing house adaptations have to be made for windows, drains, pipes and gutters. Insulating walls could be saving you upwards of £150 a year in fuel bills with payback in a 10 plus years.
Draught-proofing Approximately a fifth of all heat loss in a typical home is through ventilation and draughts. Obviously, some ventilation is essential, especially if you have solid-fuel or gas fires, but don’t forget that wherever you can feel a draught coming in, warm air is going out. The most common areas that require draught-proofing are around letter boxes, waste pipes holes, badly fitting exterior doors and old sash windows. Condensing Boiler and Thermostatic Valves If you’re thinking of installing a new one, go for it as soon as possible. About two thirds of all domestic CO2 emissions come from old boilers. New rules say boilers should have an ‘A’ efficiency rating, which basically means having a condensing boiler. Condensing boilers will certainly cut down on your fuel bills but ensure you buy a good one as otherwise all your savings will go into the boiler engineer’s pocket. Also get thermostatic valves fitted to your radiators to limit the waste of heat.
Energy Efficient Lightbulbs Is your house filled with old fashioned filament light bulbs? Each one uses 60w, while energy-efficient bulbs use up to four times less electricity to generate the same amount of light. Each one will save around £9 on your annual bill and pay for themselves within a year.
Insulate The Roof. Up to a third of a home’s heat can escape through the roof if it’s uninsulated. According to the Building Research Establishment, if you were to put down 250mm of mineral wool insulation in an uninsulated loft, you’d save £70 to £270 a year on fuel bills. The payback period is 2-3 years . Yes it really is that simple and that cost effective.
Insulate The Walls Like roofs, walls can also leak up to a third of the heat produced in your home. The government is very keen on cavity wall insulation at the moment, and grants are available. You can also insulate the inside face of the walls with insulation backed plasterboard. With this technique 365 Developments had made the walls of hundred year old terrace houses as energy efficient as the walls of modern houses!!! The disadvantage is that you have to alter electrics, skirtings and you lose a few inches off the size of the room. In reality you will losing about 6" of the room size to achieve these types of results. A far more dramatic solution is to clad the exterior of walls in purpose made cladding systems. The same width of insulation is more effective on the exterior face of a wall than the interior face so thinner insulation is required for exterior cladding. Again on an existing house adaptations have to be made for windows, drains, pipes and gutters. Insulating walls could be saving you upwards of £150 a year in fuel bills with payback in a 10 plus years.Draught-proofing Approximately a fifth of all heat loss in a typical home is through ventilation and draughts. Obviously, some ventilation is essential, especially if you have solid-fuel or gas fires, but don’t forget that wherever you can feel a draught coming in, warm air is going out. The most common areas that require draught-proofing are around letter boxes, waste pipes holes, badly fitting exterior doors and old sash windows. Condensing Boiler and Thermostatic Valves If you’re thinking of installing a new one, go for it as soon as possible. About two thirds of all domestic CO2 emissions come from old boilers. New rules say boilers should have an ‘A’ efficiency rating, which basically means having a condensing boiler. Condensing boilers will certainly cut down on your fuel bills but ensure you buy a good one as otherwise all your savings will go into the boiler engineer’s pocket. Also get thermostatic valves fitted to your radiators to limit the waste of heat.
Energy Efficient Lightbulbs Is your house filled with old fashioned filament light bulbs? Each one uses 60w, while energy-efficient bulbs use up to four times less electricity to generate the same amount of light. Each one will save around £9 on your annual bill and pay for themselves within a year.