- How to future proof my home?
- How can I keep heat in my home?
- How do I keep the house cool in summer?
These are all questions we need to ask ourselves. Adapting our homes for climate change is climbing higher and higher up the list.
The good news is that doing this will also make your home energy efficient, reducing your home energy bills considerably.
What is the aim?
The aim is a comfortable, affordable home that supports your wellbeing. It holds steady in heat and cold, using renewable energy to maintain your comfort level. Self-sufficient for part of the year with access to energy when there are power cuts, accessing cheap energy from the grid and storing it until needed. How does that sound?
Three elements to the process:
Creating the efficient home that holds its own whatever the outside temperature by insulating, making airtight and adding in appropriate ventilation. This makes the fabric of the home sound.
Add in renewables. That gives you some level of independence so you’re not totally dependent on the national grid.
- Improve air quality in the home – getting rid of the products we use regularly that pollute our homes and cause many health problems
The energy efficient home uses sustainable materials that don’t off-gas VOC’s. Airtightness cuts out uncontrolled air and has heat recovery ventilation bringing in controlled air, avoiding condensation and mould.
Renewables – for most people this means solar panels to give you free energy from sun and light. If you have a battery, you can store what you don’t need in the moment and top up the battery at night on cheap energy. If you choose a battery with a hybrid inverter you can have energy in your home even when the power goes out.
Good air quality is vital to our health. Changing cleaning products, hairsprays and body products that give off VOC’s; cutting use of the wood burning stove that gives off particulates; getting off gas to reduce the particulate pollution. The list goes on.
It’s all do-able and the benefits are huge. A warm home that is worth more because of the retrofit, lower energy bills and a positive contribution to stopping the climate catastrophe that is coming down the line
Help is at hand
You don’t have to do all this alone. A retrofit assessor can look at your energy consumption, review your home and recommend changes you can make both short and long term. They can provide you with a whole house retrofit plan that can be done all at once or step at a time. And they will be able to support you in terms of the materials you need to use.
If you want more help, then a retrofit co-ordinator will project manage the work for you, liaising with the builder to make sure that it’s all done correctly. And if you find the right person they may well be able to do the initial assessment as part of the package.To find a well trained person, visit the AECB website or Trustmark.
Let me know how you get on!