Your Warm Air Tunnel

     It was George Monbiot in his book "Heat" who introduced us to the concept of the "warm air tunnel" when he wrote these words ".....our homes act as warm air tunnels; they keep us warm almost incidentally, as the heat pours past us and into the street." Our homes can achieve an average temperature of 19 degrees without burning any fossil fuels whatsoever. In fact, keeping a house warm in northern Europe is so ridiculously easy that it is almost insane the way our homes are so poorly designed and insulated. Demand for energy in the UK rose by 7.3% n the last 13 years but it rose by 19% in our homes in the same period. A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists in the USA quickly and easily proved that the biggest single contribution that anyone could make to reducing their Carbon Emissions (after transport) was through reduction in the energy used to heat and light our homes. 31% of all energy consumed in the UK is consumed in our homes. 82% is used just for space and water heating. This has risen 36% since 1970. In 2002 10% of UK homes had no insulation whatsoever.

     The Building Codes in Sweden and Norway are so much better than those in the UK that they use only one quarter of the energy that the average UK house does. Those are Scandinavian countries, ie, they are cold. Experiments with a "Passivhaus" design in Germany involves no heating or cooling systems. Instead good design, insulation, sunlight and body-heat contribute to internal temperatures higher than the average UK internal temperature. They run on just one-quarter of the energy that a UK house uses.

     So, if you have very little money to spare and want the most cost-effective way to save fossil-fuels, then fit insulation. In fact, max-out on insulation. You can buy great big insulation bags and fit them in your loft in a few minutes. Seal those drafty doors and letterboxes. Get double-glazing. Insulate your walls. Hang thick curtains and actually draw them at night. Only when you do all of these things (at relatively little cost) are you ready to graduate onto the bigger things - like solar water heating. This fact is already known to local councils who see their grant money going much further if their Tax Payers simply spent a little on insulation first. Indeed, none will even give you a grant for energy saving features until you have insulated your house. Very wise. But it won't get you pictured with Leonardo di Caprio sometime soon.