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Oct 05
2009
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Refurb for RealPosted by: John Alker Tagged in: UK Green Building Council , Sustainable , project 1 , Manchester , Labour Government , Great British Refurb Campaign , Energy Saving , Eco-Refurb
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Frankly, you can only muster so much interest in something that has not yet happened. NGOs and campaigners like us are forever banging on about the world we want to see in the future. Big promises - carbon cuts, energy bill cuts, job creation - are at the hypothetical stage.
That's why it's so important to see green refurb actually carried out. In reality! To a real house! A real householder! You get the idea. Knauf Insulation have been leading this week's Manchester refurbishment project, which Simon McWhirter blogged about last week.
What it proves - not that there was much doubt - is that the industry is up for this. Sure, it would need some time to gear up in terms of supply chain and skills if government gave the green light to the sort of financial incentives and clever mechanisms that would lead to a massive nationwide retrofit push. But we have some talented people, ambitious companies and let's be honest, a lot of people in need of good quality employment, that a Great British Refurb is not only good for our much-needed carbon diet - it's a very attractive proposition for UK Plc.
John Alker
UK Green Building Council
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What's your gas bill like? Unpredictable? How much do you spend on electricity? Too much? Wouldn't it be a joy if those bills just evaporated or at least shrank? 
We have bought Cottage Farm just over 4 years ago - soon after I learned about Peak OIl - and if you don't know about it yet, you'd better learn fast - try www.TransitionNC.org.
And now we are almost ready for the long expected downslope - the 30 year spiral of decline, the direct result of Peak Oil.
We have converted to organic status over the past three years, established herds of local Red Ruby cattle and Wiltshire sheep and now we supply our neighbours with fresh beef and lamb boxes. Also stopped cutting hedges to encourage trees to grow to suppliment our little wood. And own veg and poultry...
At the same time we have almost completed conversion of our house to renewables: Insulation, draft proofing, light bulbs, appliances, wind up radio, etc, etc. Switching to wood burner for space heating and wood burning Rayburn for cooking (and heating)
But also heat store is powered by 40 solar tubes, a wood burner and an immersion heater. We can also use the existing central heating circuit to distribute heat from the heat store around the house.
The immersion heater and an electric storage heater will run off our 5kW wind turbine whenever it is producing more power than our house requires. The turbine is currently grid connected, but we also have the battery bank/ controlers/ inverter necessary to switch over to off grid as and when major power cuts become commonplace. Almost forgot, bore hole water as well and planting 100+ trees annually to have something to burn in future years.
Its not that hard with the right motivation - and Peak Oil is exactly that.