Archive for March, 2010
If you are looking for a fast way to save money on your energy bills, one of the quickest options is to take a look at your home and to get rid of any cold draughts.
According to the Guardian, windows are the worst area when it comes to heat escaping from your home. Your rooms will feel colder when heat gets out and cold air gets in through draught windows, leading to the need to turn up the heating and spend more money on your heating bills.
There are various ways to get rid of draughts, with different costs and different levels of efficiency. The cheapest method is simply to get hold of plastic or foam strips from a DIY store and add them to window frames to keep out cold air.
However, it is widely known that single glazed windows are particularly bad for letting hot air escape. By installing new double glazing in both your windows and doors, you could reduce the amount of heat that gets lost by around 50%, and save an average of £135 a year on your energy bills on top of this.
Alongside double glazing, maximum effect can be seen when heating controls are used to their full effect, alongside an efficient boiler. By implementing all of these measures, you could save around £235 on energy bills every year.
The government has recently announced amendments to its building regulations that will attempt to improve energy efficiency in domestic properties.
North Lincolnshire Homes (NLH) properties are to dramatically reduce the region’s carbon footprint by around 1,700 tonnes thanks to new home improvement schemes.
The new home improvement scheme will see older homes being brought up to date, getting rid of cold draughts. Technology such as double glazing, new insulation, doors and windows will be used to make homes naturally warmer and to slash energy costs.
The head of investment at NLH, Neil Webster, said that the work will impact in two very important ways. The first will be increasing the insulation through new windows and improved roofs, which will mean heating homes will require less energy and carbon emissions will be greatly cut.
Secondly, this will benefit tenants due to the fact that energy costs will be greatly reduced. He added that this is ‘ideal during difficult financial times’.
Work on the NLH properties started last year in some of the first homes, located in Queensway, Scunthorpe, and those properties have already been fully renovated and improved. These houses were particularly energy inefficient, designed as temporary homes after the Second World War. They benefited from eco friendly upgrades including doors, double glazing and new roofs.
In total, NLH is spending £12 million on the project. Next to be worked on are Trent View House high rises.
Village halls are one tradition of country living that’s really thriving, and village halls are frequently seen as excellent examples when it comes to making energy efficient improvements to benefit both the environment and running costs.
A number of villages in Ryedale are leading the way. The latest is Gilling, near Helmsley, thanks to a £32,000 scheme that started four years ago. The money has gone towards installing a new floor, under floor heating, and double glazing that will keep the property much warmer. Many of the residents have carried out the work themselves.
Grants have been provided to these village halls from a number of sources. This includes the EU as well as the Ryedale District Council. £5,000 came from the Grassroots fund, and the annual pantomime at Hovingham was responsible for £3,000 of the money.
Residents in Gilling are also trying to gather £25,000 to give a playground for the children who live in the village.
A number of other villages have seen improvements carried out in their halls, including Thixendale, Coxwold, Hovingham, Levisham, Cropton and Bransdale.
Energy efficient improvements help to bring more opportunities for events at local village halls, thanks to making them more comfortable and warm, and reducing the amount of heat that gets lost through windows and walls. In addition, they will also be doing their part for the environment by reducing carbon emissions.
According to new survey results, owners of residential property are only concerned about energy efficiency if it saves them money, and not because it helps the environment.
The poll was carried out by County Homesearch, showing that 93 percent of all people looking for a house are concerned about the energy performance of the property.
Of those, 74 percent stated that the main reason behind this is due to the fact that energy efficient properties mean cheaper energy bills.
On top of interest in eco friendly measures such as double glazing in windows to cut down on bills, 46 percent stated that they would be interested in installing renewable technologies, including solar panels, if there were financial incentives for doing so.
Chairman of County Homesearch, Jonathan Haward, said: ‘the survey results are not surprising news’ since it’s clear that wasting energy means wasting money, on top of the negative impact it will have on the environment.
The government has just recently launched a new strategy that will help seven millions households across the UK make eco friendly home improvements by 2012. A pay-as-you-save scheme will be introduced as a way of providing loans that will help people meet the upfront costs of making such upgrades to their property.
Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary, said that the plan will help to create 65,000 jobs for builders, energy advisers and manufacturers, as well as helping to reduce the costs of energy bills.
Councils planning to install green measures into homes in the region are to be given financial grants by the government.
The housing and planning minister John Healey recently announced that £10 million worth of funding is being put in to improve ‘green skills’ alongside updates to council planning rules and continuing the development and progress of eco-towns.
These plans are part of a scheme that will give local councils more control over taking a lead when it comes to making environmental change in the country.
Healy commented that ‘£10 million for councils will provide training to help deliver action on the ground.’
Evidence has already been seen of councils working to make homes more energy efficient. For example, some councils have provided advice or funds to help people install energy efficient double glazing in windows, or to install loft and cavity wall insulation that can reduce energy bills.
Healey added that ‘We know we need greener, renewable energy if we are to meet our ambitious low carbon targets. We also know that the ways and means for people to access this energy needs to be quicker and easier.’
The government has also just launched a consultation that aims to ensure that all new developments are built in such a way that will cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. These schemes are all part of making sure that Britain meets its carbon emissions targets in the next few years and decades.
According to an industry group, the government’s Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy would do better if a simple tax incentive were introduced for residential property owners who are looking to make green improvements to their home.
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) responded to the government plans to retrofit seven million homes around the country within the next ten years. They stated that cutting down on the VAT cost of these projects – down to five percent – would attract more homes who are worried about the cost.
The scheme is designed for homeowners to “pay-as-you-save” and debts will be attached to properties rather than individuals, paid off when energy savings are made.
The FMB also added that making a change such as this could create around 55,000 jobs, which includes almost 25,000 for those involved in building, plumbing and other trades.
The new government strategy is designed around low cost loans in the hopes that more homeowners will be less put off by the upfront costs of making eco friendly changes to their homes, such as the addition of double glazing in windows. Such work can reduce heat lost through homes and can make them a lot cheaper to run, cutting costs on energy bills.
The scheme is also going to introduce tighter standards when it comes to eco friendly projects and workmanship.
Director of the FMB external affairs, Brain Berry, said that “The FMB recognises the need for high standards in the retrofit market and will be working with the government to address how best these can be achieved.”
The UK government recently announced a one month countdown to the start of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme.
The scheme will require that large public and private sector organisations take part, starting April 1st, to help reduce the carbon emissions in the country. This will also help to benefit the businesses due to the fact that greater energy efficiency means cheaper fuel bills.
A number of changes can be made by the businesses to help reduce carbon emissions. This could include revamping office premises to install energy efficient technology. For example, installing double glazing can reduce heat lost through the windows by half. Replacing boilers, installing renewable heating systems, and looking for more efficient methods of using paper and printers can all help to meet targets.
Energy and climate change minister, Joan Ruddock, commented saying ‘There’s just one month to go until the start of the CRC which will see large public and private sector organisations cutting emissions as well as saving money on fuel bills.’ She added that this is a ‘real opportunity for business and industry’ to take a leading role in reducing emissions and tackling climate change.
It has been claimed that those who participate in the scheme could save a total of £1 billion each year by 2020 after the changes have been made. Four million tonnes of carbon dioxide could also be saved each year, when the scheme is properly up and running by 2020.
A new ‘green loans’ scheme setup by the government is set to help homeowners and landlords to improve their homes and make them more energy efficient.
After the recent ‘Big Freeze’, leaving many homeowners with their biggest energy bills ever, energy efficiency and cutting down on carbon emissions has become ever more important.
Glass manufacturer Pilkington have claimed that 76% of the population in Britain believe that energy efficiency is important when purchasing a new property. The independent research showed that the most important energy efficiency measures include having an energy efficient boiler, installing green heating, cavity wall and loft insulation and double glazing in windows. The double glazing alone can help to save 20% on energy bills every year.
In fact, savings could amount to over £10,000 over a lifetime, however many homeowners are put off by the upfront cost required to make these changes. Thanks to the new scheme introduced by Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband, it is hoped that more and more homeowners will take action to make the changes.
The Green Loans scheme will provide long-term funding for those that want to make changes. They will be tied to the property, rather than the person, and only paid back as the savings of energy efficient changes are felt.
Miliband stated that the scheme ‘will allow people to pay for home improvements after they have had them installed rather than before.’ He added that this will be good for the environment and for families, thanks to lower bills and more comfortable properties during a cold winter.
The government has recently launched a new scheme that is aimed at supporting eco friendly upgrades for seven million homes across the country, helping to create 65,000 jobs for plumbers, builders and advisers across the next decade.
Energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, spoke of the new scheme – the Warm Home, Green Homes Strategy – at the Ecobuild exhibition in Birmingham. Miliband stated that these plans will help to pave the way for new ‘pay as you save’ schemes that will provide loans at a low cost, to help homeowners meet the cost of making their homes more energy efficient.
Upgrades to improve energy efficiency of homes include installing insulation, double glazing in windows, and replacing energy efficient boilers. These will leave homes naturally warmer and cheaper to run in terms of energy bills.
It is also hoped that the scheme will create new partnerships between local authorities and energy suppliers, meaning that energy companies will be required to do more to help households become more energy efficient. It will also help to protect householders against ‘cowboy eco-builders’.
Miliband added that the plan will create 65,000 jobs across the next ten years, including those who carry out the work as well as those who advise homeowners on how their property could be improved.
The latest figures from the Department for Energy and Climate Change stated that carbon emissions across the country rose by 3.2 percent in 2008, equating to 2.5 million tonnes.
Many fixed price energy tariffs are due to end in March and April, which means it’s now the perfect time for homeowners to start thinking about how they can improve the energy efficiency of their homes, according to Ratedpeople.com.
The next few months will see a number of capped and fixed price tariffs coming to an end, meaning that homeowners must shop around to find the best deal in order to reduce their energy costs. Ratedpeople.com has advised that homeowners should also use this as an opportunity to consider measures that can help to reduce the amounts of heat lost from their homes.
Founder and CEO of Ratedpeople.com, Andrew Skipworth, said: ‘In the short term, some DIY activities such as the installation of double glazing or loft insulation can cost enough to put home owners off, but were their heating bills to increase after the beginning of March, they could soon find that such measures will pay for themselves much more quickly.’
This is due to the fact that insulation and double glazing in windows will save money on heating costs month after month. Double glazing, for example, can known £135 off your yearly energy bills.
Skipworth also added that, though shopping around can help to save money in the short term, the best way to protect yourself against price rises is to make energy efficient improvements to the home. There are ways to get help with such projects, such as the boiler scrappage scheme offered by the government.
