Planning system gone mad

With the current hype on carbon emission and sustainable housing I have been fooled to believe that the government and local authorities are doing everything they can (money permitting) to encourage us to live in 'greener' homes. Far from it, as I found out the a few days ago. With a recent planning approval the local authority has set certain conditions. One of the most confusing ones was the insistance on single glazing in a new garden room (large windows with well insulated roof) , which is an extension to a house built in the 80s. The fact that the property is in a conservation area seems to override environmental concerns. After questioning the condition we have been told that it is standard policy to request single glazing on any property in a conservation area. It does beg the question wether the council got their priorities right.
Certainly on the continent a lot of historic buildings receive the double-glazing treatment when they are being refurbished or renovated. Perhaps the difference is the quality of the actual window system. I do agree that there are few worse things than bad PVC double-glazed windows.

Energy efficiency measures - Walls

The indicative savings described below are for a typical heated semi-detached dwelling. These figures are provided to aid comparison of the different energy efficiency measures available.
Cavity insulation is one of the most cost-effective insulation measures available to our homes, reducing heat loss through walls by up to 60%. Insulation can be added to most cavity walls. Dwellings built after the early 1980s normally incorporate wall insulation as standard. Installing wall insulation when replacing the heating system is a good opportunity to specify a smaller and cheaper system. It usually takes less than half a day to blow insulation into the cavity through holes cut into the outer skin and the occupant can remain in the dwelling. Prior to installation there should be a pre-installation inspection to assess the wall's suitability - including exposure of wall to driving rain, masonry material used and pointing of the masonry. It is recommended that cavities of less than 50mm should not be filled.
Annual saving £130-160
Installed cost approx. £260
Installed payback less than 2 years

Solid walls typically loose double the heat of an uninsulated cavity wall. However it can be insulated either internally or externally, which will increase comfort and reduce heating costs. Internal insulation can be applied either by dry lining in the form of a laminated insulating plasterboard or by a built-up system using insulation between a studwork frame.
Annual saving £270-340
Installed cost from £40/sqm

External insulation systems are made up of and insulation layer fixed to the existing wall. This can be achieved by using a wet-render system (either thick sand/cement render applied over wire mesh or a thinner, lighter polymer cement render applied over a 'GRP scim') or a dry-cladding system. The latter is a popular option as the cladding material can be variety of materials such as timber panels, stone or clay tiles, brick slip or aluminium panels.
Annual saving £290-350
Installed cost from. £1800
Installed payback 5-6 years

Insulation in timber-framed dwellings can be equally improved (buildings built after 1976 are insulated to a reasonable standard), however professional guidance is required to avoid problems.

Insulate or generate?

Since B&Q has brought out their windturbines for less than £2000 it seems to have become increasingly easy to generate our own electricity. Afterall, who doesn't want to 'go green' for an affordable price?
However questions have been raised if we are spending our money wisely by investing into microgeneration. Shouldn't we rather spend the money on highly insulating our homes?
The government has set out the following targets for housing in its recent zero-carbon announcement:
25% lower carbon emission by 2010 (3 star rating)
44% lower carbon emission by 2013 (4 star rating)
Zero carbon emission overall by 2016 (6 star rating)
To achieve these targets we need to improve the performance of our homes as space heating counts for 57% of carbon emission of our homes and water heating for 20% of carbon emission. Alongside tough insulation and good airtightness, buildings need to run on efficient heating and ventilation systems. There needs to be an appropriate balance of thermal storage, solar gain, shading and ventilation. With all the above, we can think about the addition of microgeneration without blowing the gained energy straight out again. Insulate before generate!

Ecological footprint

The call for a reduction in our ecological footprint in the western world has got certain implications on the way we build and live in our homes (average UK footprint is 5.35ha while average UK supply is only 1.64ha per person). In many ways it has become much easier to reduce our footprint with solar hot water and photovoltaic systems readily available. However there is far more to it than throwing technology at the problem. The construction industry and home owners needs to start using local building materials and those requiring minimum processing, non-toxic materials which should be durable and easily recyclable and need to take into account the potential for flexible occupancy to extend the useful lifespan of a building.

Advantages of a sustainable home

Many people think it requires a substantial investment to make their homes more sustainable. This doesn’t have to be the case. While it is tempting to advertise our environmental conscience with solar panels on the roof or a wind turbine in the garden, we should be thinking about reducing our energy and water consumption first rather than producing more (even if it is ‘green’ energy) to feed our growing energy demands. The cheapest source of energy is conservation – simply using less. There are multiple advantages of living in a sustainable house, such as:

• Better air quality by reducing the risk of asthma problems
  
• Higher comfort levels through insulation
  
• A better house, which will be easier to sell
  
• Taking responsibility for our environment and our children’s future
  
• Better quality of living

Heating/cooling

Heating buildings is one of the main agendas of energy saving but with rising summer temperatures predicted for the future, cooling will become equally important. In the end it boils down to our dwellings feeling comfortable. These are some ideas of how to save heating/cooling by doing less.

• Draw curtains/shutters on doors and windows at night when temperatures drop below comfortable outside.
  
• Use draught excluders on doors during the day
  
• Keep the heat inside habitable rooms – close internal doors
  
• Turn down heating by 1 degree and wear clothes appropriate to the season (it will save approx. 10% of heating energy)
  
• Turn down heating while on holiday
  
• Draw curtains/blinds/shutters on south/west-facing side in summer for solar shading
  
• Cooling down buildings by allowing cooler air into the house at night

Waste

Waste reduction plays a central part in sustainable living. The construction industry produces an enormous amount of it but I would like to concentrate on household waste here.

• Reuse plastic bags, or even better use cotton bags/baskets/collapsible boxes for your shopping (bring your own)
  
• Buy products with as little packaging as possible
  
• Try to avoid the plastic bags when buying loose fruit and vegetables
  
• Buy products in recyclable packaging (and make sure you recycle afterwards) or are recyclable themselves

Water: a precious resource

Water is one of our most valuable resources. To maintain a constant supply we need to be careful in our consumption.

• Taking showers rather than baths (long showers under a large shower head defeat the object)
• Use hot water only when necessary (Do we need it for washing hands?)
• Reuse run-off cold water usually wasted while waiting for hot water
• Turn off tap when brushing teeth
• Fill kettle only as much as you need to
• Do not rinse items excessively when washing up
• Choose appropriate setting on your dishwasher and washing machine and always with the appliance
• Collect rainwater for watering the garden
• Use a bucket for washing your car, ideally with rainwater

Electricity

We can produce more electricity in a sustainable way for a considerable cost, but using less makes more economic sense.

• Switch off lights when not required (some type of light bulbs don’t like constant switching on/off; it shortens their life span)
• Switch off electrical appliances where possible – standby can use a lot of electricity
• Use lighting for specific tasks rather than generally
• Think about the amount of time and length you open fridge or oven door