Plenty of people are talking about it, even governments work out how to make it happen, but just how do you make your home an eco friendly home and what benefits should you expect?
Eco house part 1 – older property
If as most of us do in the UK you live in an older home or one built earlier than the 1970’s you will be limited in the changes you can make and the savings you can expect. However there are still things you can do depending on the type of property you have.
While it is a good thing to save money on fuel bills a few simple changes will make your home more comfortable and at the same time you can do your bit for energy saving. In a few years time as energy costs rise it seems likely that a poor energy rating could affect and make homes difficult to sell.
- Make sure you have high levels of insulation – roof and cavity walls
- Make sure windows and doors are sealed with no gaps
- Lag hot water pipes and tanks
- Make sure doors are well fitting and block any gaps
- Don’t leave gadgets on standby in the UK it is estimated that 8% of domestic energy is used by items left on standby
- Consider using an energy wizard which helps to reduce fluctuations in voltage and current which reduce the energy efficiency of domestic appliances. It is estimated that energy wizards can cut bills by 10% for an average household that saving of £60 per year. They cost between £20 to £30.
- Check your central heating boiler, is it energy efficient. The older the model the less energy efficient your boiler is likely to be.
- The same applies to appliances older fridge freezers use more energy and are less environmentally friendly
- More expensive to implement, there are other changes you can make to reduce energy usage and make your home more comfortable.
- Consider double/ triple glazing or secondary glazing
- Condensing boilers can save energy costs as they can be more energy efficient than traditional boilers. This is a design of boiler which can have an increased efficiency over the more traditional boiler. The efficiency of a typical non-condensing boiler is around 75%, whereas with condensing boilers it can be over 87%. This increased efficiency is due to the extraction of heat from the otherwise wasted flue gases.
- Installing skylights will bring in more light reducing the need for artificial light
- Solar panels can be installed but you will need a new dual coil cylinder and control equipment making installation costly. It can take many years to break even on the cost
- Motion sensor light bulbs for indoors and outdoors reduce energy bills as lights are automatically turned on and off. They also act as a burglar deterrent.
