On a visit to the ever-expanding Ecobuild Fair yesterday, I was interested to sit in on a discussion surrounding the Great British Refurb Campaign, set up over a year ago by Kevin McCloud. The campaign is trying to make our Government and the great British public understand the fact that whilst new builds are being regulated and driven towards zero carbon by 2016, little is being done for the 26m homes already built and occupied by the likes of you and I. How can we set about retrofitting so many homes to reach carbon reduction targets set for 2020 and beyond?

A recent competition was set up by the campaign for one lucky winner to receive all the upgrades needed to create a low energy home. The winner Will *** was present at the conference and described the upgrades (valued at around £23,000) that his house had received:

• Interior wall & loft insulation
• Solar Panels
• Balloons in unused chimneys to stop draughts
• New composite doors and thermally insulated glazing
• Smaller Radiators
• Unit to lower voltage coming in through the electricity mains

How had this changed Will’s energy statistics? The results were astounding, as he achieved an 80% drop in carbon emissions and better still a 123% drop in energy bills – Will can now make money on electricity produced by his solar panels through the new Feed-in-Tariff coming in April.

A fantastic result I am sure you’ll agree, but how can the majority of the public carry out similar works? There are many hurdles to overcome

• Financial : many householders simply cannot afford it
• Destruction : the complete house might be affected and occupiers will need to put up with a lot of disruption during the works
• Motivation : many people lack the belief that they need to reduce their personal carbon footprint
• Industry infrastructure : currently we are as a nation lacking in the skills and infrastructure necessary to carry out the works on a large scale

Clearly, these are big issues that need discussion at the highest levels of our society.

Government is moving in the right direction with schemes such as CERT and CESP both of which help financially with grants for upgrades but can only cover around 1.5m houses per year. If we are to tackle 26m houses much more is needed.

Yesterday Ed Milliband introduced a new scheme in which homeowners can take out a ‘green loan’ for energy efficient upgrades. This loan will be set against the property and will be sold on to the next occupier as the house is sold.  This is once again a step in the right direction but will not help out the millions living in social housing or close to the poverty line who do not own their own houses. Can landlords and housing associations finance the necessary upgrades?

There is clearly no easy answer and we will be following the debate with interest in the run-up to the election. Check out the Great British Refurb Campaign website who will be posting summaries of the three main political parties housing policies over the coming months. It is sure to be an interesting debate.

Most importantly of all, sign up to the campaign and make it clear that if we are to achieve the targets set for carbon reduction we are all going to need a little help and we are definitely going to need to work together.

Gecco Interiors Limited is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Ethical Junction member, YouGen, has been shortlisted for the Green Web Awards. The winner will be decided by public vote.

We aim to make it simple for people to find out which (if any) renewable energy is suitable for their home, and then to find a local supplier they can trust to install it. We’re still very new – the full site only went live in April this year, so it’s very exciting to be shortlisted. It feels a bit David and Goliath as one of the other sites in our category is The Guardian’s Ethical Living site.

The inspiration for the site came when we were renovating our house a few years ago. I did a lot of research into biomass boilers, but when it came to deciding whether or not to go ahead I was faced with quotes that differed by £5,000, and no way of telling how the products or installers compared. We played safe and stuck got an efficient condensing gas boiler, but the idea for YouGen was sparked.

While there is now more help available, it is still very difficult for homeowners to know whether they are getting a good deal. Recently published research from Oxford University found that prices for wood-fuelled boilers varied from just over £3,000 to £16,000, and solar hot water systems prices varied from £1,000 to £8,0001.

YouGen helps people to choose a good installer by inviting people who have already used them to rate their service on the website. In such a new market, it’s often not possible to ask a friend or colleague for recommendations.

YouGen aims to plug that gap and help people to choose a supplier by encouraging people to come to the site and rate their installer. We enter everyone who does into a draw each month to win a GEO Minim Home Energy Hub.

Voting for the Green Energy Awards is open until 31 December 2009. If you like what we offer at YouGen, please vote for us!

Cathy Debenham
cathy@yougen.co.uk
www.yougen.co.uk

YouGen is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Working model Hydrogen Fuel Cell car for classroom or home use from www.keen2learn.co.uk

Renewable energy education is becoming a hot topic. A great new range of working model cars designed for the classroom demonstrates the function and benefits of hydrogen fuel cells.

 

 

Classrooms are great testing grounds for product durability. With this in mind Keen2learn have adopted the Heliocentris range of teaching resources for science. The classroom packs of Model hydrogen fuel cell cars show how sunlight can be harnessed to produce hydrogen, and how the hydrogen can power a fuel cell model car.

Supplied with comprehensive teaching instructions and a list of experiments this cross curricular product produces interest and fun as the cars are raced together. More importantly it introduces children to the vital needs of renewable green energy.

“The Heliocentris range is robust and designed to survive in the classroom. The experiments give a huge and fun insight into the essential benefits of green energy” said Alistair Owens Managing Director of keen2learn.

Press Information

Keen2learn is an award winning website started four years ago to give parents access to the educational games used in school. Practice is crucial in learning retention and often children in a busy classroom lack the opportunity to practice what the teacher has said. The fun games played in class can be a bit of a rush. Playing the games at home at leisure allows parents to engage in the schooling process far more effectively than conventional homework. Since the launch schools have become large customers of keen2learn. Teachers like the extensive range matched to the National Curriculum and ease of ordering from one location rather than ploughing through multiple printed catalogues.

Keen 2 Learn is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more