Retro-green your house

Later this year, the Government is launching a consultation document, to see how our country's historic period homes can be made more energy-efficient – but many home owners are starting to act now.

Pioneers like Michael are testing new methods of energy saving, and, like all pioneers, there have been some disasters along the way. "Rosewood has solid walls, so I couldn't put in cavity insulation," says Michael, a financial markets consultant. "But with small room sizes, I didn't want to lose any space with internal insulation."

Michael decided to render the exterior walls, adding an inch of lime-rich mortar. "The quantities of lime need to be exactly right, otherwise it just falls away from the wall – which it did, several times." The extra thickness now acts as a thermal barrier, keeping warmth in during the winter and heat out in summer.

The old floorboards, like those pictured above, were lifted and a layer of polystyrene and concrete laid beneath them – with added vents to make sure the old oak can still breathe. Michael also added a new type of breathable insulation to the roof slats, and installed wind-operated ventilation to help air circulate in the extra-sealed space.

With a pole-mounted wind turbine, solar panels and solar hot water, the house generates more energy than it uses. "My major expense was the wind turbine and solar panels," says Michael. "The insulation itself only cost about £2,000."

It is possible to retro-fit even further. In a pilot project in south east London, a 1930s terrace has been transformed into a super-efficient home, scoring an A on the energy performance certificate ratings – which even new homes struggle to achieve. Its heating requirements have plummeted by 80 per cent – from 223 kW/h per sq metre per year to just 32 kW/h per sq metre – thanks to new insulation for the cavity, internal and external walls, space-age insulating materials in the roof and
low-energy LED lighting.

The project is the brainchild of the Hyde Group, an affordable housing provider. It uses the latest eco technology, including the world's first breathable foil insulation under the rafters, new flat-roof insulation for the rear extension and low-energy LED lighting. Each LED bulb lasts 50,000 hours, compared to 10,000 hours for fluorescent bulbs and 3,000 hours for tungsten ones.

Another homeowner, Philippe Bassett, lifted his 1960s house in Esher from a G to a B/C rating on its Energy Performance Certificate, using a new technology called Bolix (www.studiocelandine.com) – polystyrene panels stuck onto his external walls, which are then rendered.

"There is a huge range of materials at home owners' disposal now," says Simon McWhirter, homes campaigner for World Wildlife Fund. "Sadly, builders are not yet familiar with many of them and stick with inefficient methods. But with new slimline wall insulation, people living in older, single-skinned homes really have the materials to be able to insulate them."

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Smart meters: are they the answer to big bills?

With energy bills at a record high, millions of Britons may be worrying about how they are going to pay to heat and power their homes this winter. Cutting back on energy use is one way to limit the financial damage of wintertime, but so few of us know where to start. This is where the new generation of "smart meters" can come in.

A smart meter is a small wireless transmitter that receives signals from your gas and electricity meter about your energy use. This information is then forwarded to a portable display that can be prominently placed in the home, which can be read by the customer. The idea is that if you can clearly and easily see how much energy you are using and how much it is costing then it should prompt a change of behaviour. In other words, customers will become more energy-conscious and this in turn will see them take steps to reduce their power bills. "Smart meters will help people understand energy better. Standard meters were hidden away in a cupboard not telling you much, but smart meters can show you how much you are saving by turning down the thermostat in an instant. In addition, smart meters make deals more transparent – if you can see your pattern of energy use, you can see what tariff suits your needs," said Marian Spain, director of strategy at the Energy Saving Trust.

A one-off £49 installation fee is charged, but savings soon start to be made.

The Energy Saving Trust reckons that the gadget can help knock 5 per cent off the average household energy bill. That equates to an annual savings of between £50 and £70. The theory is that those who use a smart meter would be more inclined to make energy saving decisions such as insulating their lofts, turning down their thermostats and switching appliances off rather than leaving them on standby. The meters can also help reduce inaccurate billing – a big bugbear among consumers. This is because, since the meters can be read remotely by providers, bill accuracy is assured.

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Baxi takes bow with CHP champions

For its work in developing the micro-CHP unit Baxi Ecogen, as a direct replacement for a wall hung gas boiler, Baxi won the Innovation category at the CHPA awards, held on November 19.

Baxi Ecogen's engine generates up to 1kWh of electricity for use in the home. Field trials carried out in homes with different energy demands, where the units provided heating and hot water in some cases for more than a year, show the units consistently producing two thirds of the households’ electricity requirements, of which one third was used in the home and one third exported back to the national grid. The Ecogen boiler could make substantial savings on energy bills and could cut CO2 emissions by 20%

Mark Kelly, CEO Baxi Group UK and Ireland, said: “Our extensive field trials have shown that Baxi Ecogen is a natural successor to the conventional boiler – as a direct replacement for a wall hung gas boiler, it is readily accepted by the householder".

He added: “We are pleased that the government has recognised the importance of micro-CHP as a microgeneration system and has included it, along with other products such as solar and wind turbines, in the Energy Bill.”

The Baxi group recently signed a preferred supplier agreement with British Gas to distribute Baxi Ecogen micro CHP units to British Gas customers from the second quarter of 2009. The agreement could generate revenue for the group of up to £40m per annum.

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British Gas boosts micro-energy strategy with eco boiler launch

Utility giant British Gas is launching the UK's first micro-combined heat (micro-CHP) boiler in the consumer market. The utility company will market it as a unit that can generate electricity and as a result heat, therefore helping to make savings on energy bills and cut CO2 emissions by 20%.

The boiler will be available from 2009, and will join a portfolio of "microgeneration" products that the company plans to market next year. British Gas has signed a distribution deal with its maker, Baxi Group.

British Gas launched a range of wind turbines and solar panels to allow consumers to generate their own energy in March this year. The products can now be installed without planning permission after changes in legislation that came into force on April 6. The company is also launching smart meters, which tell consumers how much energy they are using.

The utility giant says about 1.5 million boilers are replaced every year in the UK. It forecasts the new boiler could take up to 30% of the market.

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