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Making the most of your Home

Green living - your home through emerald lenses

July 8, 2012

As consumers we're constantly confronted with lifestyle decisions that can impact our environment. Going with the flow of our culture is hard to avoid, and unfortunately the flow is hardly ever in the direction of a sustainable future. However one of the most environmentally significant choices that any of us will make is the kind of house we live in and how we live within it.

The average UK home is filled with petrochemical products emitting volatile organic compounds, including latex paints and synthetic carpeting. Gas stoves, fireplaces, and boilers all release carbon monoxide, the most significant 'greenhouse' gas and the leading contributor to global warming. In addition, fungi, molds, mildews, pollen, and other allergens collect on wall to wall carpeting.

If we take the time to view our home through emerald lenses we'd realize the use of non toxic materials, less water usage and seeking alternative energy sources will benefit the environment, our health and our bank balance in the long run.

Here are some top tips to help conserve energy, and improve your standard of living in an environmentally friendly manner: 

• Firstly deal with draughts. Traditional windows and doors can be easily fitted with weather strips to cut these down considerably.
• Fit trickle ventilators (compulsory in new build and extensions) to allow controlled ventilation when you want it.
• Save energy by turning things right off when not in use, these can use almost as much energy as when running.
• We can learn from southern Europe methods for keeping cool in summer - ventilate as much as you can in the cool of the morning and evening and keep the house shut up tight during the day when outside is hot.
• Blinds outside the glass are much more effective at keeping out the sun than those inside.
• Make sure your heating and hot water is just turned on only when you need it to.
• Shutting curtains at night keeps heat in on winter's nights.
• Put a jumper on!
• If it ain't broke, don't fix it so unless you are losing slates in the wind, or it leaks, your roof probably doesn't need mending. Even then it can often be repaired rather than replaced.  If you do have a new roof (or are building a loft extension), consider saving and re-using as many as possible of the existing slates or tiles. It is usually the fixings that fail on old roofs, not the slates themselves.
• Use environmentally friendly cleaning and washing products.
• Instead invest in regular maintenance. Clearing gutters saves leaks and expensive repairs.  Look after timber windows and they can last for centuries (unlike PVC - good for perhaps 15 years). Cap unused chimneys to keep out the rain.

And when making changes:

• Choose new materials that will last, even if they cost a bit more now.  And preferably those that can be recycled eventually.
• Talk to your architect about the balance between maximising daylight, and minimizing the heat lost through windows.
• Plan space in the kitchen for sorting your rubbish. Recycling is easy if you do it as you go
• Have somewhere for a rainwater butt to water the garden.
• Fit a new energy efficient condensing boiler.
• Zone controls and thermostatic radiator valves means you only heat the rooms you need.
• If you have a suitable roof, solar water heating allows the boiler to be off for most of the summer, and reduces the amount of gas it uses in other months.
• Consider other sources of renewable energy – Photovoltaic Panels for generating electricity, heat exchangers for producing hot water and so on.
• 'Green' planted roofs (with plants such as sedum) cut down heat loss and maintenance, increase biodiversity and soak up rain water, and look great from above!
• Insulating, everywhere, the external walls and roof, if they aren't already insulated, will massively reduce the amount of heat lost, and therefore the size of your bills. There are three main external wall insulations – cavity wall, external and internal. Some local councils will fund some sorts of insulating, including loft and cavity walls, so there may not be a great extra cost in getting this work done for you. Ask your architect which is the best for your house. You can never have enough insulation - especially when building it into areas like walls or floors that will be difficult to adapt later.
• Look at double or triple glazing your windows, or providing secondary glazing
• Consider underfloor heating as it uses a lot less energy than radiators and produces an even warm heat. Generally a hot water based system, rather than electric, is cheaper to run and more environmentally friendly. Ask your architect about the system is most suitable for you.

Not everything here is affordable or achievable within weeks. It's not always practical to do everything at once either but it's as these different elements of home maintenance come up that you can think about implementing the relevant ones, they are just an idea of ways to get started.

Also, try and find an architect who has some experience in 'eco-refurbishment' and can advise you on what the best options are for you and who will explore ideas, provide advice on planning and building regulations, present sketch design options on the spot and provide a costed project plan for your renovation in your initial visit.

Tom runs our Architect Your Home Hackney office. He has a vast amount of architectural experience. He's been working with Listed buildings & buildings in Conservation Areas since he established his practice in 2006.  He has also undertaken detailed restorations of a number listed buildings in London. Tom is a member of the SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) & is also on the Green Register of Construction Professionals & has experience & great interest in bringing historic & listed buildings up to modern standards of thermal performance & energy efficiency.

To find a company who may assist you further, simply click on the free links located on the right hand side of the page.

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