What to do? What to do? Here’s the list of recommendations for our house, and what we thought about them…
Upgrade all floors U=0.2
Estimated cost, £400, annual CO2 savings, 360kg
Not entirely sure what this entails – presumably lifting all the floorboards, currently uncarpeted, on the main level of the house. That seems quite disruptive for the modest gains.
Upgrade roofs to U=0.11
Estimated cost £624, annual Co2 savings 435kg
Assuming this refers to loft insulation, though the cost figure indicates roof improvements involved as well. Anyhow, definitely worth doing the loft part, and it’s easy. Good!
Log burner 75% efficiency close other flues Air-tightness of 5m3/hrm2
Estimated cost £3,550, annual CO2 savings 1204kg.
I assume the saving is reckoned from using less gas to heat water for radiators etc, though this isn’t entirely clear. Might consider this one day, but not in a rush to run, in effect, two boilers.
External walls insulated U=0.35
£13,181, 2,748kg CO2.
OK, the walls are where most of the heat is going. But they aren’t cavity walls, so insulation has to be outside or inside. This would completely alter the look of the house, which is no big deal at the side, but could be front and rear. We kinda like the way it looks now. The cost makes it sound like quite a big job, too.
Existing walls to U=0.2
£16,221, 3,021 kg CO2
OK, internal insulation as an alternative then? Would make the rooms smaller, and require complete removal while work was done, and total interior redecoration. I work from home. Hmmm, maybe not.
Whole house ventilation + heat recovery + 7m3hrm2
£6,000, 712kg CO2.
Not entirely sure what this means, but the effect is pretty weedy for the price, and one imagines major works involved again.
New condensing boiler + solar thermal
£8,450, 314 kg CO2.
Big cost, small effect again. Also, while solar is appealing, in principle, the recommendation overlooks the fact that we do not have a south facing roof, the S-facing bit being in the other half of the semi-detached pair.
Double glazing to all single glazed windows
£21,600 527kg CO2
That’s some pretty expensive windows there, though the idea appeals in terms of looks, comfort, and saying goodbye to ancient sash fitments…
Solar PV 1.5KW
£11,250, 604kg CO2.
See above under solar thermal…
In my reading then, the main feature of the survey is that the things that would really get results are both costly and disruptive. No cavity walls, so additional insulation would have to be inside each room, or overlaid outside. Might do that one day, but I work from home so don’t really want to live through having it done inside. Floors: ditto. A wood-burning stove: maybe one day but I’m not totally convinced this is of much more than aesthetic value.
Overall, my view is that the other things we can do easily are not that effective, the ones which would take more time and trouble, and a good deal of money, are too disruptive to undertake at present, or unsuited to the house. This feeling is reinforced by the fact that the Refit West projects which appear to be under way, going by this website, tend to involve houses which the people paying for the work are not actually living in yet, or have temporarily vacated.
Where does that leave us?
Well, loft insulation. This is a no brainer, and we have done it. There’s a state subsidy already, it costs little and is done for you in about half an hour. Decent double glazing: That is a strong possibility, though the figures suggest it will be more for comfort and convenience than energy economy. Probably won’t do it all at once, but estimates are now in hand. Er, that’s about it, though we do plan to get some decent, hefty curtains to cut the winter drafts in the meantime.
So where’s the commitment?
This is just one experience, so one ought not to conclude from this that there is not yet a process which will help the many thousands of people whose houses are leaking heat to upgrade them, but I am definitely leaning that way. And I am also looking at other things one might do in a different light. Home-improvements also have opportunity costs. One might, for example, investigate which carbon offset schemes are certified as useful and actually worthwhile – I came across one the other day, for example, which is run from Shanghai and invests directly in Chinese renewables. Or you could invest in Triodos climate change bonds, with a bank which claims that a £2,000 odd investment will lead to generation of enough renewable energy to power the average home for 20 years. Is that a better way to go? In terms of ultimate results, I really don’t know. But as an immediate personal spending option it has its attractions…
So I would claim that there is still a commitment in this house to doing what one can in terms of a personal contribution to limiting climate change. Just not necessarily through things which we will do the actual house. I imagine revisiting that decision if we happen to move again, and work can be done while “in between” houses, but have no idea when that might be. I’m still interested to see what conclusion others come to!
postscript – we have just taken the plunge and paid the deposit on a complete double glaze, to fit the entire house with A-rated windows. Oddly, but interestingly, this is costly, but not nearly as costly as the survey suggested. We are having rather more done than was estimated for there – some old windows are already double glazed but 30 years old and need replacing, and we are having a new door installed at the rear of the house. However, even with the most expensive options we can take for most of it (e.g. replacing sash windows with sash) and best possible heat retention, the total comes out less than half the survey estimate. We’re left wondering what on earth were the materials they were assuming would be used? Never mind, the job should be done by winter, so it will be interesting to see/feel the difference.