Eco build on a budget

Energy efficient houses are more expensive to build but save you money in the long run – While it’s true that energy efficient measures pay for themselves over their lifespan, not everyone is willing to make an investment if they may not see the benefit.  This is the case for a lot of technology-driven measures such as solar panels, groundwater pumps, heat exchange units and German-style PassivHaus construction. However, not all energy efficient houses require such high tech solutions. One of the easiest ways to minimise your energy needs is to insulate your walls with natural materials – straw, hemp, recycled newspaper, sheep’s wool. These are all low cost, low carbon products that will make a significant difference to the energy needed to heat your home.  Another product that is less expensive than you might imagine is triple-glazing. We sourced FSC-certified Scandinavian triple-glazed windows and doors that cost only a fraction more than so-called ‘A-rated’ double-glazed windows from a mainstream supplier.

An eco-house has to look like an eco-house – What makes a house ‘eco’ are the materials used in its construction and the efficient use of energy to run it, not what it looks like. While there are some fantastically original eco-houses in all manner of shapes and settings, that doesn’t mean that everyone contemplating an eco-build needs to make it unconventional in appearance. If you live in suburbia, you may be concerned about fitting in with the aesthetic of your street or it may be a planning requirement. In our case, because of our tight budget and deadline, it made sense to opt for a conventional appearance to speed up the planning process. When completed, our timber and hemp structure will look like every other white-rendered 1930s semi-d on the street.

The only way to be eco-friendly is to go off-grid – This is one of the myths that put people off even attempting an eco build. Some eco builds make an enormous effort to source their heat and power off-grid, despite the carbon cost involved in manufacturing, transporting and operating the alternatives. For example, a concrete house can generate tonnes of carbon pre-construction. It will ‘pay back’ with carbon savings on energy use, but not for decades [trying to source accurate figures on this, bear with us!]. Unfortunately, the planet doesn’t take rain checks.  Individual wind turbines that aren’t in a windpath may never pay back – it makes a lot more sense to have it in a wind farm in a windy place than on your suburban roof. Ditto for solar panels in places that aren’t sunny. Another misnomer is ‘carbon-neutral’ wood burning stoves (see below). Doing your bit for the environment is a series of checks and balances – do whatever is within your means to do, while making the least negative impact. For most people, the very best they can do is to reduce their energy use as much as possible, switch to a (genuine) green energy supplier or tariff, and stay on-grid. The more consumers who demand renewable energy, the more money will be invested in increasing its capacity. Eventually the grid will have to be reformed to accommodate renewables and improve efficiency. At the moment, for every 100 units of grid energy generated, only 22 units are utilised by the end user [http://www.buildingforafuture.co.uk/autumn05/1-24.pdf]. There’s no doubt that the grid is hugely inefficient but investing scarce resources in keeping individual households off-grid isn’t a much better solution. Moving to decentralised production seems to be the way to go – using a combination of technologies and renewables at a local level to generate power for the community.

Wood is a carbon-neutral fuel – Three things get my goat on this: 1. You still produce carbon when you burn wood – it releases all the carbon it has stored during its growth. This is carbon neutral but not in the sense of cancelling out your use of it – it cancels out the effect the tree has had in its lifetime; 2. unless you live near a forest, saw mill or friendly carpenter who donates his offcuts, the wood will have to be transported to you, individually, by a large carbon-emitting vehicle, which will then make a return journey empty; 3. wood may be a renewable resource but ONLY IF YOU PLANT MORE TREES! If everyone switched to wood for fuel, the country would be deforested pretty damn quickly and we need them as carbon sinks more urgently than we need them for fuel. Fuel is one of the major reasons for deforestation worldwide. Coppicing provides an alternative – when wood is harvested this way, the tree is not felled and continues to grow and produce more wood. This is like having your cake and eating it – burning your wood and keeping your carbon sink!

My efforts won’t make any difference to climate change – This self-fulfilling mindset paralyses people (and governments). It’s difficult to quantify the effect of your contribution when you know that worldwide issues such as deforestation, coal-burning power plants, population growth and spiralling car use eclipse it BUT you can be absolutely sure that if no one takes action then nothing will change. All you have control over are your own choices – so make them good ones. And stop using China and India as an excuse. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead, anthropologist 

A-rated appliances are good for the environment – One of the most misleading issues in terms of energy consumption is the A-B-C rating system for electrical appliances. Consumers believe, understandably, that all they have to do is check for an A rating on their new appliance and they’ve done their bit for the environment. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The system works by rating appliances against others in their class, not against a ‘gold standard’. So if the best in the class is a pretty poor performer, it makes the rest of them look good. For example, an energy guzzling American-style fridge with double doors and an ice cube dispenser may carry an A-rating that looks exactly the same as the A-rating on the boring old fridge freezer standing next to it. But they are not measured by the same standards – the double fridge is rated against others of the same type, while the bog-standard fridge is rated against other bog standard fridges. So even though one manufacturer has invested research into making their product energy efficient and the other has invested in style, they both go home with an A. To measure like with like look at the label, which shows the actual energy usage in kilowatts, and compare. You may think twice about the icemaker. Bear in mind that A is now considered the minimum ‘green’ standard. Some super-efficient appliances now carry AA or AAA ratings. Other appliances don’t seem to warrant a rating system – irons and tellies, for instance. This doesn’t mean that it’s ok to buy a 42″ plasma TV as a ‘treat’ for making your home more energy efficient. It could wipe out all your good work within months. Plasma screens are like the old tungsten light bulbs – they use a huge amount of energy emitting heat rather than doing their job. If you must indulge, go for LCD and tone down the size. Replacing a CRT computer screen with an LCD screen can save you energy almost immediately.

You need a main contractor to manage your project – Most people who build houses or extensions engage a contractor or project manager who takes responsibility for everything. They also, usually, do things their way and builders are not renowned as the most sustainable or open-minded of professions. If you want to stay in control of your project, ensure you use only sustainable materials and get competitive quotes from tradesmen, you could consider managing the project yourself. Obviously, not everyone is lucky enough to have an architect or engineer in the family – you’ll have to do your research and understand the language of builders. You can make substantial savings but it is not a task to be undertaken lightly. If you are not confident about what you’re doing, then don’t risk it. Do as much as you feel comfortable yourself and get the professionals in for the rest. A badly built house will not be energy efficient, no matter what sustainable materials are used. You want to end up with your dream house, not the house that Jack built.