Spend a little, save a lot
Wednesday, 20 January 2010 14:46
By spending a little money in 2010 on some simple energy-cutting measures the five shortlisted homeowners in the Great British Refurb’s Home of the Future competition could make a big difference to both their household bills and their carbon emissions. And the money they spend could be paid back in less than a year, it has been revealed in the home energy assessments carried out by AECOM and Keepmoat.
The Great British Refurb campaign competition, in partnership with the 10:10 campaign, selected five houses from over 8,000 entries. All five homes have now been subject to a full survey and energy audit and we have published the executive summaries of those audits here.
Emma and Peter live in Bristol. Their three bed 1950’s semi emits four tonnes of carbon a year. With a small investment of £155 they can reduce those emissions by 20 per cent and reduce their energy bills by 23 per cent. Their investment would pay for itself in under a year
If Emma and Peter went for a full eco-refurbishment those reductions would be 103 per cent in carbon emissions and 118 per cent off their energy bills. Emma and Peter could even sell energy back to the grid. However, cost would be a factor and an investment of nearly £50,000 would be needed. The pay back would be over 40 years. Emma and Peter would really benefit from a scheme such as 'Pay As You Save' which we have featured on our campaign blog.
Will and Catherine have recently bought their first home also in Bristol. This three bed Victorian end terrace has produces nearly three tonnes of carbon emissions in a year. By investing £205 they could reduce this amount by 8 per cent and knock 22 per cent of their energy bills. They would see this investment paid back in 1.2 years.
A full eco-refurbishment would see them reduce the house’s carbon emissions by 87 per cent and their energy bills by 97 per cent. But again this would not come cheap for Will and Catherine and they would be looking at a payback period of over 40 years. Of course they, as with all the houses featured would see the carbon savings immediately.
Adrian and Yvonne live with their young son in a two bed Victorian mid-terrace house in Macclesfield. They are expecting their second child soon. To achieve a saving of 13 per cent on the four and a half tonnes of carbon emissions their home produces in a year they only need to spend £190. This would reduce their annual energy bill by 21 per cent and they would see that investment paid back within a year.
Adrian’s and Yvonne’s house could deliver savings of around 74 per cent of its carbon emissions and reduce their energy bills by 87 per cent. But this would cost them around £40,000 which would be paid back over 40 years. This is a good example why the Great British Campaign is campaigning for a change to the law which would allow such a loan (if Adrian and Yvonne wanted to take one out) to be attached to the house and passed onto the next owner who will continue to benefit from the investment Adrian and Yvonne would make.
Nathan, Gail and family live in a four bed detached house near Southend that was built in 2000. Despite the house being quite new there are still things they can do. Currently Nathan’s and Gail’s house produces around five and a half tonnes of carbon emissions per year. By spending £190 they can reduce their carbon emissions by 12 per cent and their energy bills by 10 per cent. What’s more they would recoup this investment in 1.4 years.
For Nathan and Gail to do the complete eco-refurbishment would be a much bigger job but they could see savings of 69 per cent on their carbon emissions and 90 per cent on their energy bills.
Iain, Fiona and their family live in Warrington. Theirs is a 1960’s four bed detached house, with a 2009 extension. Their current energy bill is around £1,059 per year and their home produces around four tonnes of carbon emissions. For as little as £225 they could reduce those emissions by 6 per cent. And they would save 12 per cent their energy bills.
If Iain and Fiona wanted to do a complete refurbishment of their home then the emission reduction would leap to 97 per cent and their bills would fall by 85 per cent. But this could be high in terms of the upfront cost and lengthy in terms of the payback period. This is why the Great British Refurb Campaign is campaigning to reverse this and deliver financial incentives to take energy reduction measures at home through schemes such as ‘Pay As You Save’.
Thanks to the support of Keepmoat all five of these houses are going to have some work done on them to help them reach a minimum of 10 per cent carbon reductions, in line with the 10:10 missive that we should all reduce our emissions by 10 per cent in 2010. We’ll feature each of the homes here on greatbritishrefurb.co.uk. The winning house will get a substantial amount of work done to it, which will help them substantially reduce their carbon emissions and save a significant amount of money on their energy bills. Come again soon and read all about the winning house and the work we will be doing to make that house fit for the 21st century.
