As part of its pledge to fight climate change the government has introduced a nationwide Green Homes Service, administered by the Energy Saving Trust. The free service enables you to call a local Energy Saving Trust advice centre (tel: 0800 512 012) to seek guidance on how to reduce your energy use, saving money into the bargain on electricity and gas bills. The centre will also advise you where you can buy environmentally friendly products, such as low energy light bulbs, and find suppliers and tradesmen.
You can also book a personal home energy consultation or ‘check up’ from an ‘energy doctor’, who will visit your home to advise you on how to make it more energy efficient. The personal service is being rolled out nationwide throughout the course of 2008. Environment Minister Hilary Benn has yet to announce the cost of a personal visit from an energy doctor. A similar service available only in London, called the Green Homes Concierge Service, charges £199 for a personal home energy assessment.
Recently, we arranged a visit from an energy doctor to assess the energy performance of the detached, four-bedroom house in London where I live in with my wife and daughter. I had thought that how we lead our lives (what is officially known as behavioural factors) would influence the result. It doesn’t. The assessment is only of the house’s fabric, fixtures and fittings – and not of how we use them and run the house.
So before the check up began what was my expectation as to its performance? Given the house’s age, 1905, and the fact that I have previously undertaken online energy assessments, which have given the house an energy performance of E on the scale of A-F (A being highest) as used in the Energy Performance Certificate, which is part of the HIP pack that every home being sold in England and Wales must have, I thought that should be achievable. Privately, I had hoped that a D might be attained.
To begin with Rob Bell, the energy doctor who visited, explained how the check up would work. He advised me that given the age of my house and the fact that it is in London would almost certainly mean that the external walls are solid brick and not cavity walls. His summation, if correct, would mean that cavity wall insulation – which could save up to 33 per cent of heat loss that occurs through walls – would not be possible. And it would have an adverse effect on the house’s energy performance.
His assumption was correct and it did have a negative impact on the result. Mr Bell said: “Many homes in London built around 100 years ago are solid brick, which means they can’t be cavity wall insulated. In other areas of the country, such as Newcastle, the majority of houses have cavity walls. In those places cavity wall insulation is a good option that can make a significant reduction to energy use and heat loss. In an average home it will save around £90 and 750kg of CO2 per year.”
Next, the energy doctor assessed my house’s boiler type and age. Different hot water and heating systems – for example, combination and immersion – have varying energy performances. Since 2003 all new boilers sold and fitted must be condensing models, which can save up to a third on heating bills, and around 875kg of CO2 annually. My combination boiler is five years old, but was serviced six months ago, and the energy doctor thought that its performance would be good and that it would not be practical to advise me to replace it with a condensing boiler at this juncture.
Following on from discussing energy performance – and ways to save money and emissions through correctly setting the timer and effectively controlling the thermostat and individual thermostatic radiator valves – we moved onto lighting. Apart from conventional ceiling spotlights in some rooms, low energy bulbs are fitted throughout the house. The energy doctor advised me that I could buy low energy spots, and guided me to the energy saving recommended products section of the Energy Saving Trust website to find a suitable product. Approved products and retailers are permitted to use the Energy Saving Recommended logo.
Lastly, we discussed loft insulation, which along with wall insulation is where most heat loss occurs – up to 26 per cent. My loft is fitted with approximately 150-200mm of insulation, which scores well on the report. So, how did the house perform overall? A slightly disappointing E, but with the potential to reach D should I consider insulating the solid walls. The report tells me should I do this I could reduce my heating bill by £420 annually, saving 3.4 tonnes of CO2 and 34 per cent of the house’s energy use per year. It doesn’t state the cost of installation.
Overall, the energy doctor considers my house’s performance to be a good one. It is for me to decide if the cost versus benefit of having the solid walls insulated is a viable one. And how could I reach higher than a D rating? In a house that’s more than 100 years old the only way is to consider microgeneration technologies, such as solar, ground source heat, and biomass. Each option will provide energy from a renewable source that emits none of the planet warming greenhouse gases.
How did I rate the Green Homes Service? The online assessment is quick and easy to do, taking less than five minutes, and the report is straightforward and informative. The freephone telephone service, which is routed to a local Energy Saving Trust advice centre, quickly gave me the name of the National Insulation Association. They in turn passed me on to a member company who would be able to assist me in finding someone local should I choose to have solid wall insulation installed. The in-person visit by an energy doctor was worthwhile, primarily because he is independent and impartial in his advice.
Would I pay for that peace of mind? Probably, but it depends on how much it costs. Around £200 would seem reasonable value, but any higher and even the darkest green among us would, I suspect, consider his options. I know I would. Keen as I am to do my bit to save the planet, and myself a few quid into the bargain by reducing my energy use, paying out more than £200 would seem like yet another government-inspired way to collect revenue from us all while masquerading as help and advice.
FOOTNOTE: The Energy Saving Trust website lists grants and offers that are available in each area of the country not only for cavity wall insulation but also other energy saving initiatives. In my postcode area 13 grants and offers are provided relating to cavity wall insulation. They range from British Gas offering installation for a one-off price of £250 to energy supplier Southern Electric offering grants of up to £400 towards the process.
