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Tim Woolmington of Transition Glastonbury’s Low Impact Buildings working group (LIMBS) writes about the need to ‘eco-renovate’

Looking at the homes taking part in Mendip Open Green Homes and Gardens you will see something for just about any location or life-style - rural to urban, large and small, old and new. It is perhaps the new-build that showcases the latest sustainable design, the lowest energy demand, the newest exciting innovations, but we cannot all live in new-build nor would we want to. Our lives are too diverse for that so we choose from what is available, suiting where and how we want to live and what we can afford.

When we have found our home we generally start moulding it to suit our needs and desires and if we really like where we are we often carry out ‘improvements’ by upgrading kitchens and bathrooms, building extensions and re-designing gardens. But now, in the 21st century we have a new imperative. Climate change demands we reduce our carbon footprint, and the imminent onset of peak-oil is driving us to greatly reduce our consumption of non-renewable resources. Keeping our homes warm and comfortable is an ever growing cost, and to reduce that cost we must now eco-renovate.

Quite simply, eco-renovation is about using less and less non-renewable energy, and the best place to start is cutting down what we waste – the heat that escapes through our walls, windows and roofs, around and under our doors and up through our chimneys. For a ‘typical’ house - an un-insulated three bed semi – draughts account for up to 25% of heat loss, the roof – 15%, walls – 30%, windows – 20% and floors – 10%. So the first priority is insulation; walls, within the cavity or with surface mounted insulation boards (perhaps both on the cold, exposed sides of the home or to gain greater savings), loft or roof insulation to at least 250mm, 300mm would be better and of course double, even triple, glazing. That leaves the floors which can be more awkward depending on whether they are suspended or solid, but the benefit is worth having.

Of course not everything is that simple, flat roofs will require a different approach to lofts. Here the insulation boards can go on the ceiling or on the roof beneath the covering felt. Ideally done when the roof needs recovering but perhaps this is the time to think about a living roof, a very definite plus to reducing your carbon foot-print.

Draught proofing is mostly windows and doors which is why double glazing can be more effective than just cutting down the heat lost through glass. But don’t forget the loft hatch, letter box and any passive ventilation, especially kitchens and bathrooms. Then there is the chimney which could benefit by fitting a wood burning stove. This has the added benefit of introducing a renewable fuel source and a certain comfort factor. If a new stove is being installed this could be a good time to go a step further and introduce a complementary heat recovery system. Heat recovery can also be applied to necessary active ventilation which you will want once you have achieved the desired level of insulation.

When you have minimised your heat losses it is time to turn to alternative energy. Solar hot water is probably the best well known and is extremely cost effective. Photo-voltaics may be next on your list, especially as costs come down. Similarly retro-fitting an air or ground source heat pump might have high initial cost but could fit well with work on floor insulation. But there are also other simple measures to reduce your energy costs; solar powered ventilation or light-pipes to brighten those dark corners are just two of them.

Now visit some of the open homes and gardens to see how they have implemented these measures and let them inspire you to eco-renovate!

Contact the Low Impact Buildings working group in Glastonbury by emailing Tim Woolmington at tim@woolmington.fsnet.co.uk or calling 01749 672426 or 07854 417428

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