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Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Environment and greener living

Insulation and heating

Eighty per cent of energy used in homes is for heating. Turning down your thermostat, installing good insulation and getting a more efficient boiler can help cut your fuel bills and your carbon emissions. Financial support is also available to make your home more energy efficient.

The wider issue

Energy used in the home is responsible for more than a quarter of the UK's carbon emissions. Reducing the amount of energy you use for heating is one of the most important things you can do to help reduce climate change.

Financial help to make your home energy efficient

You can get financial help if you're planning on making energy saving improvements – like installing insulation or getting a new boiler – to your home.

Warm front

If you’re on certain benefits, you may be eligible for a Warm Front grant. This helps you make improvements to your insulation and heating. To find out more, read ‘Warm front scheme in England’.

ACT ON CO2 helpline

Call the helpline on 0800 512 012 for impartial advice on energy saving offers

Help from energy suppliers

You may also be eligible for energy saving offers from energy companies. You can take up offers from any of the companies making the offers, regardless of who supplies your gas and electricity. Find out exactly what support you could receive by:

  • phoning the ACT ON CO2 helpline on 0800 512 012
  • using the ‘energy saving offers: do you qualify?’ link below

Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance

If you're a landlord and make energy saving improvements to your property, you could claim the Landlord's Energy Savings Allowance (LESA) and lower your tax bill. Follow the LESA link for more information.

Take control of your heating

Turn down your thermostat to save money and fuel

You can cut a surprising amount of wasted energy with clever use of your central heating controls. These can include:

  • thermostats for heating and hot water
  • radiator valves with thermostats included
  • electronic timers

Taking a few simple steps can save you money and reduce your carbon footprint:

  • use the timer to make sure the heating is only on when you need it
  • when you move house, ask the landlord or the people moving out to show you how the controls work
  • if you're having a new boiler or hot water cylinder put in, ask the person installing it to talk you through the controls - and ask for a follow-up visit
  • try turning the thermostat down by just one degree Celsius - you could save as much as 10 per cent on your heating bills

Choose an energy efficient boiler

Trade in your old boiler: you could get £400

More than 80 per cent of home energy use is for heating and hot water - so getting a more energy efficient boiler can make a big difference. Look out for the Energy Saving Recommended label when you're choosing a new boiler. This label can only be used on the most energy efficient products, usually the top 20 per cent of those available.

Boiler scrappage scheme

You might be eligible for £400 off the cost of installing a more efficient boiler. If you live in England and have a working G-rated boiler, you can apply to the Energy Saving Trust.

Insulate your walls and loft

Is your loft insulation 270 millimetres thick?

More than half the heat lost in a typical home escapes through the walls or the roof. Installing loft and cavity wall insulation will reduce the heat escaping. Combined with a degree of draught exclusion, it could also cut your fuel bills by up to £180 every year.

Cavity wall insulation

Installing cavity wall insulation can take just a couple of hours for a typical three-bedroom house, and can be done from the outside. Your building needs to have cavity walls. You can insulate solid walls too, but this is a bigger and more costly job to do.

Loft insulation

Loft insulation is easy to install - you can even do it yourself. If you already have loft insulation, check how thick it is. Adding another layer to bring it up to the recommended 270 millimetres will save both energy and money being wasted.

Other ways to keep the heat in

Walls and roofs are the biggest heat loss culprits, but you don't have to stop there:

  • double glazing can cut heat loss through windows by half
  • insulate your hot-water tank
  • lag your pipes
  • put draught-proofing strips round windows and doors - if you can feel cold air coming in, it means warm air is going out the same way
  • if your home has a cellar space, under-floor insulation can help keep the warmth in

Think about renewable energy sources for your heating

Renewable energy can sometimes be an option for both heating and powering homes. The most common renewable energy technologies are solar, wind, water (hydro) and biomass, which involves burning plant products or animal waste. Using renewable energy can make a significant contribution to reducing climate change effects.

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