GBRC

It is common knowledge these days that our homes produce over a quarter of the UK's carbon emissions and for the past 15 years Government, industry and local authorities have struggled to enthuse people to reduce those emissions. Why? Because the key to reducing emissions is to reduce the amount of energy a home needs to stay warm and well lit and let's face it; that is just not that exciting. Unfortunately, with the impacts of climate change and higher energy prices knocking on our door the urgency has never been greater to reduce our energy use and emissions.

Last Monday was an exciting day for the team at the Great British Refurb Campaign with our front man, Kevin McCloud, waxing lyrical to both policy-makers and the public all in one day!

Here is the another water blog by Rose Timlett, WWF's policy officer on water.

Late last month, we enjoyed our first barbeque of the year on the unfortunately-yellowing Common outside our flat. This may seem late as we've already enjoyed some glorious weather. March was unusually warm, there were few April showers, and by May, gardens were in full bloom, tricked by the sunshine to show their wares early. The Met Office has confirmed that in the south and east of England, this has been the driest spring in 100 years.

With World Environment Day having gotten us all thinking last weekend, Lydia Sharples of energy saving advice website Thinkinsulation.com discusses why consumers must act now to future-proof their homes. Here she offers her own expert hints and tips about how to get your property brimming with energy efficiency features and maximise the savings made on your household energy bills long after you’ve made energy efficiency improvements to your home.

As household fuel bills continue to rise, home energy efficiency is an increasingly popular talking point.   The average home can save about £300 a year by being energy efficient, according to the Energy Saving Trust and measures such as mending broken boilers, closing curtains at night and fitting energy saving light bulbs will all help save energy.  However, before you do any of this, installing insulation is an essential first step.  It is one of the most effective ways of reducing heat loss and helping to make energy bills more affordable.

I spent Friday at the Radian Retrofit Conference. A fantastic event, absolutely jammed to the rafters with well over 350 people all focused on retrofit. Various experts spoke, Chris Huhne laid out his vision for the Green Deal and we all swapped ideas and concerns. However, at the end of the day, I was left with one, big nagging worry.

In my first blogpost, I described the work we had done in our Bristol Victorian Semi and our experience of Refit West and Bristol Green Doors. This time, I'm looking at what its like to live there, and what we learnt through the whole process.

This week I joined the UK Green Building Council to work part-time on their existing homes work, including on the Green Deal and the Great British Refurb Campaign, having recently left the Department for Energy and Climate Change.