For most of us, living more sustainably begins at home - it would be great if we could make our homes carbon neutral
Carbon neutral means the amount of energy your home uses balanced out with the amount of renewable energy you can generate to meet the need. For example, you can use renewable heat sources, solar panels and battery storage. The net result is no overall increase in emissions to the atmosphere.
With energy bills at an all-time high, knowing how to save energy has never mattered more.
The cost-of-living crisis is a strong motivation to think more carefully about how we use energy and where we get it from. And it fits well with making changes to live more sustainably and reduce carbon emissions.
“Having an efficient heating system running on a low-carbon fuel is one of the most important steps you can take to reduce your fuel bills and your carbon dioxide emissions” – Energy Saving Trust
There are loads of sustainable heating options on the market. Some are available with subsidies from the government. Check out these options:
- Solar panels – capture the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity that you can use in your home.
Here comes the Sun – read our Hart case study on the benefits of solar panels.
- Solar water heating – roof-mounted tubes filled with water and a chemical that helps it capture energy from the Sun to heat water in your home.
- Heat pumps – they capture heat from outside and move it indoors. The main unit is installed outside your home, usually against an external wall. The Energy Saving Trust has a web page explaining the science behind heat pumps. Heat pumps breathe life into vision of low-carbon future – read our Hart case study on heat pumps.
- Heat controls – fit temperature controls to every radiator in your house. This allows you to turn down the heat in rooms you don’t use often, so your central heating system uses less energy overall.
- Boilers – if you don’t think the time’s right to invest in a heat pump and/or solar panels for your home, check if you have the most efficient gas boiler. Your local installer will give you advice if you need to upgrade.
Energy Performance Certificate
If you’re looking to improve the energy efficiency of your home, a great place to start is your Energy Performance Certificate.
It'll tell you how energy efficient your home is and give it a rating from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient). The report that comes with the certificate also recommends way to improve your rating.
They're really important because you need one if you want to sell or let your home!
Reducing heat loss from your property
Did you know that up to 60% heat loss from your home is through your walls and roof! What can you do about it? Insulate!
Insulation is basically anything you use to keep heat in your home and stop it escaping into the open air. There are lots of different types of insulating materials available, such as mineral wool and insulation board.
Wall insulation
Do you know whether you have cavity walls or solid walls?
Cavity walls have an external wall and an internal wall, with a space in between.
Some cavity walls are filled, but some still have an empty gap, which you could consider filling with insulation. You can even insulate your single brick wall, which is quite common on Victorian properties.
Read more about how to install wall insulation on the Energy Saving Trust website.
Loft insulation
Hot air rises and you can lose up to a quarter of your heat through your roof, so insulation is really important. Hart District Council have been working with Hart Voluntary Action to deliver thermal imaging in people’s homes across Hart.
One common area people often forget to insulate is their loft hatch. Consider improving your loft seal and add inexpensive insulation above the hatch, maybe even using your insulation off-cuts.
Floor insulation
Generally speaking, you only need to insulate the ground floor in a house. However, if you have a room over a garage or other uninsulated space, you might want to add extra insulation there too!
And remember: you might be eligible for free or cheaper insulation. See our grants section.
Energy efficient tips
There are plenty of cheap ways to make all sorts of improvements to your home, without breaking the bank. For example, a letterbox cover to block up that permanent hole, or even an old curtain converted into a draught excluder might do the trick if you want to stop cold air blowing under your door. Or you could add some reflective foil behind your radiator to stop heat escaping through your walls, reflecting it back into the room.
Energy saving light bulbs help lower your electricity bills and improve your carbon footprint without changing how well lit your home is.
The Energy Saving Trust website has lots of tips to help you reduce heat loss and save those pennies on your winter heating bills. Don’t forget that keeping your home warmer in the winter can also help keep cooler over the summer by stopping the heat getting in!
Make your own draught excluder
We love this 'make at home' draught excluder from the Centre for Sustainable Energy. The draught excluder ‘snake’ (or sausage dog, or cat) will stop the cold air ‘hissing’ under your doors during cold weather. They’re easy to make, and cost almost nothing! You could even rope the kids in to help.
You will need:
- Something soft and tube-like to make the body of the snake/dog. You could make this yourself from an old curtain or bedlinen, or a ‘remnant’ of some nice fabric from a department store. Or you can use the leg of an old pair of tights, a very long sock or the sleeve of an old jumper. Something to stuff your snake with (e.g. old socks or bits of foam)
- Scissors and wool (or string)
- A needle and thread
- Things to make the snake’s eyes, tongue etc, like scraps of fabric or buttons match your curtains.
This is how you make your draught excluder:
1) Fill the tube with stuffing so it forms a sausage shape. Leave a bit unstuffed at the end.
2) If your stuffing material is very light, add something with a bit of weight so that the draught doesn’t blow it away!
3) Close up your sausage with wool or string. You could make this into a nose.
4) Use fabric, buttons, scraps, decorations to give your snake/dog/sausage a bit of character.
5) Let your imagination run wild. Make a snake to match your curtains. Sew someone’s name on it or decorate it with felt shapes.