Reduce the carbon footprint of your home
Acting locally can affect the Global Landscape!
There are some really easy things that you can do to reduce the carbon footprint of your home!
- Cavity wall insulation. Un-insulated cavity walls cost you money. Up to 33 per cent of the heat produced in your home is lost through the walls. Did you know that your energy supplier may give you a grant to cover the whole cost of this?
- Loft insulation. As much as a third of your space heating costs could be escaping through your roof. Loft insulation is a very effective way to reduce your heating bills.
- Double glazing. You could reduce heat loss through windows by half. If you can't afford to replace all the windows, why not choose the rooms that cost you the most to heat?
- Energy efficient boiler systems. Boilers account for around 60 per cent of all domestic CO2 emissions. Using a high efficiency condensing boiler with heating controls could save you between £190 and £240 a year, and significantly cut your home's CO2 emissions.
- Heating control systems allow you to decide how your home is heated, making it warm when you want it but switching off when you don't. A properly controlled system should have:
a. A programmer
b. A room thermostat
i. A programmable room thermostat (instead of separate programmer and room thermostat)
c. A Cclinder thermostat (if you have a hot water cylinder)
d.Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs). - Hot water tank insulation. Insulating hot water tanks and pipes will help keep your water hot and save energy.
- Low energy light bulbs. Energy saving bulbs work in the same way as fluorescent lights. An electric current passes through gas in a tube, making the tube's coating glow brightly. Traditional bulbs waste a lot of their energy by turning it into heat. Each energy saving bulb can reduce your electricity bill by up to £9 a year. They also last, on average up to 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.
- Draw the curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
CUT THE CARBONS! Start by reducing your demands! Taking actions like these will have even better outcomes than changing to renewable energy sources.
There are now grants around to help you generate electricity in your own home, your options are:
1. Solar thermal- uses the sun to heat your hot water.
2. Photovoltaic - uses the sun to produce electricity.
3. Regional micro wind installations - Generate power from the wind within your community.
4. Building mounted turbines - Install a wind turbine on your own house.
5. Geothermal - a coil buried under the ground catches the earth's heat to warm your house.
6. Wood fuel-burns in a boiler to supply heat to a household.
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