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Title: Heading for Zero
Author: Anthony Day
Article:
Car exhausts, coal power stations, heavy industry - they all get
demonised for the carbon dioxide emissions they make. Many
people are surprised to learn that no less than 27% of the UK's
CO2 emissions come from our 21 million homes. Whenever we use
energy at home - oil, gas or electricity - we trigger CO2
emissions. Nearly two thirds of that energy is used for home
heating and just over a quarter for hot water. That means we use
less than a sixth for cooking, lighting, TV and everything else,
so unplugging rather than leaving things on standby makes a
difference, but turning down the heating can save very much more.
The key to cutting emissions is saving energy by using it in the
most efficient way possible. At home that means insulation. The
zero carbon emission home - a highly insulated design which also
stores heat from the sun - uses the minimum possible amount of
power to keep conditions comfortable within. Any power input
needed is supplied from renewable sources - wind turbines and
solar panels - or using sustainable fuels such as woodchips in a
combined heat and power unit. Constructing a house to these
standards is perfectly possible, but unconventional and more
expensive than traditional build. In the long term it will pay
for itself several times over through much lower energy bills,
but buyers, especially first time buyers, are often on a tight
budget at the time of purchase. For this reason the Chancellor's
December statement announced that stamp duty would be waived on
zero-emission houses, giving them a price advantage and making
it profitable to protect the planet. To meet its overall targets
for reducing Britain's carbon footprint, the government wants
zero-emission housing to become the new standard by 2016.
In the UK more than half of all homes are more than 50 years
old, so while building zero-emission houses is an important
initiative, it will take many years to replace existing stock
and there is still much to be done to improve older houses.
Surprisingly, there are still many older houses without cavity
wall insulation. Loft insulation is much more common, but many
houses would benefit from extra layers to bring them up to
modern standards. There are grants for insulation and better
insulation means lower fuel bills. Gas prices have risen
dramatically in recent years and there are no signs that rises
will stop! One way of squeezing the maximum from each unit of
gas is to install a modern condensing boiler. Another is to
consider a 'Whispergen'. This is a condensing boiler which uses
waste heat to drive a Stirling engine which generates
electricity. (If you don't use it all you can sell the surplus
back to the grid.) Combined heat and power at the domestic
level. New build or refurbishment; careful design and investment
will pay for itself and help meet environmental targets.
About the author:
Anthony Day is a speaker, writer and management accountant. His
new book Will climate change your life? How to Drive a 4x4 and
Still Save the Planet, is due for publication in February 2007.
Visit http://www.anthony-day.co.uk to sign up to his newsletter
and receive Anthony's Europe's Energy Conundrum - The Next 10
Years special report absolutely free.
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