On a mission to lower carbon emission

• Jan. 18 by Kirsty Booth (0)

Carbon emissions, global warming, climate change – you name it, it’s on the rise and it is ruining our planet. The results of all these environmental deteriorations are disastrous but the changes you need to make to lower your own carbon footprint need not be difficult.

I met up with local, self confessed eco fanatic Harriet Martin at her new house in Birmingham to see what can be done to make dramatic changes to your energy use and your bank balance.

I was startled when the fact filled; energy saver told me that the average person’s carbon footprint is 10 tonnes a year! – and that is not including any flights you might take. Harriet and her husband Chris are hoping to reduce their carbon footprints to 5 tonnes by the end of 2012.

If that wasn’t scary enough, then brace yourself for this. For every three hours of flying you make a year, you must add on an extra tonne to your carbon footprint. Flying is one of the major issues surrounding climate change because of the damages it causes at such high altitude.

Cruising does not offer the environment any relief either, the sheer size and speed which the liners travel at, makes the alternative form of travel nearly as detrimental to your carbon footprint as flying.  I will never feel the same way about my summer holiday again!

On a lighter note, there are ways to prevent some of the damage escalating further and I have an expert on hand to tell us how she did it.

 Harriet began by explaining the alterations that she and her husband, Chris, are making to the outside walls of their newly owned, 1930’s, semi-detached house.

The construction of this type of house means there is an open cavity between the outside bricks and the inner bricks, which incidentally can be filled to prevent heat loss. But this dedicated couple haven’t stopped there; they’re also installing dry lining to the walls for further insulation, which is set to reduce the heat loss through their walls by 85%.

The benefits of dry lining insulation is also being used under the ground floor floor-boards to prevent any further heat loss, a similar technique is also being applied to the upstairs floor-boards.

“The materials for this have been relatively cheap, especially when compared to the savings we will make in the long run with our heating bill”, explained Harriet.

Like many houses of its era, theirs was originally heated by open coal fires in each room, a nice original feature to the house but not exactly practical.

 Again, following suit, central heating was installed in the 1960’s, running of a gas boiler, similar to many that we would still find in our homes today. However, for Harriet and Chris these 60% energy efficient boilers simply do not make the cut if they are to reach their desired carbon footprint, so they are changing theirs to a Worcester Bosch which is an incredible 90% energy efficient.

She went on to say, “My husband and I will be given £250 fuel allowance in our retirement by the government and we hope to save ourselves £1000 a year on energy bills, therefore the fuel allowance should cover all of our household energy bills. This also means that the extra insulation will pay for itself within two years.” This seems too good to be true I think to myself, but this lady knows her stuff!

I am told by Harriet to look out for “A rated” goods. These include double glazed windows, boilers, ovens and other major household appliances. The A rating means that the products meet the best standard in energy efficiency.

Harriet explains, “Many of these products are still classed as specialist but it is just a case of asking whether A rated products are on offer, it is in the company’s interest to supply them.”

They are clearly passionate in their own project but Harriet is keen to explain the ways that many everyday families can lower their carbon footprint.

She stresses that “Many people will be unaware of their true carbon footprint because a lot of the self assessment websites do not include essential behaviours that affect your outcome.”

The first change made to this couples behaviour was their eating habits. “We have become vegetarians because so much energy is used to produce vast amounts of meat, especially larger animals like beef. We have also cut down on the amount we use our car and I use an electric bike to get around where possible.”

 One of the first improvements they made to the house was changing the light bulbs from regular to energy saving. These are simple and inexpensive alterations that will lower long term costs and cut you carbon footprint substantially.

The couple have recently chosen to grow their own vegetables and buy local, organic food where possible. “Vegetables that are not grown organically use pesticides and fertiliser spray to maintain their growth, this uses up more energy again” the ever determined Harriet told me.  

The final stages of this impressive and hugely effective project are to install a solar and PV solar panel. These panels will be fitted to the roof of their house and have the potential to generate enough energy to meet half of their hot water and electricity needs.

This is where the project starts to make a dent in their bank balance, however, if the couple live out the rest of their lives in this house as they intend to, the energy the panels generate will benefit them significantly. 

The pair seems to have thought of almost everything, right down to the last light bulb. If they carry on the way they’re going, who knows, they might meet the zero carbon emissions they hope for. I know one thing for sure, if anyone is capable of it, it is these guys.