Energy Efficiency

***STOP PRESS***You can now get a grant of up to £10,000 towards the cost of making your home more energy efficient via adding insulation or installing a low carbon heat system. Find out more here***

We consume energy in our homes for a host of uses including heating, hot water, lighting and refrigeration. In total, this results in around 2 tonnes of CO2 emissions per person each year.

The chart on the left below shows how heat is lost from different house types of average size. These range from an old draughty Victorian home to the latest low-carbon Passiv house. The chart on the right shows the energy needed from the home’s heating system to balance the heat losses for each type of house.

Consider having an EPC (energy efficiency) assessment carried out if you haven’t already got one. These costs £50-60, and provide you with tailored advice about reducing your energy use. Alternatively, a less accurate (but free!) online step-by-step assessment of your current household thermal performance is available here.

Some typical simple steps to reduce energy consumption are listed below – specific actions will depend on your house type and your budget.

Emissions can be reduced significantly by implementing some relatively cost-effective measures, starting with the least expensive.

Simply using thick, insulating curtains in winter and turning your thermostat down a degree or two can make a surprisingly big impact on heating energy use.
Hot water from your boiler doesn’t need to be more than 45C at the tap. Mixing cold water with your hot supply to cool it down for bathing wastes energy.
Ensuring that your home’s loft and cavity wall insulation is up to scratch stops energy being wasted through your roof and walls.
Modern LEDs can reduce lighting consumption by over 75%. Their quality is now much improved, and prices have plummeted in the last couple of years.
Replacing an old fridge-freezer with an A++ rated model can reduce its electricity consumption by half.
If you have an old gas boiler, a modern condensing boiler replacement can save up to 20% of your gas consumption.
Installing an air source heat pump in a relatively well insulated house can reduce emissions while giving you an income via the government’s renewable heat incentive.