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Energy audits 'help to create green houses'
09/11/09
Edited by Andy Jowett. Carrying out an "energy audit" can help residential property owners to identify the areas where their home wasting is energy and money, an expert has said.
Writing in the Guardian, Rough Guide to Ethical Living author Duncan Clark said a property's age is the first issue to look at when assessing its green credentials.
The properties likely to require the biggest home improvements in terms of energy efficiency are those constructed in the late 19th and early 20th century, he noted.
A typical Victorian or Edwardian house with no wall insulation, open fireplaces and single glazing emits around eight tonnes of carbon a year, whereas a home built at the turn of the 21st century will emit half that.
Home owners should ask local tradesmen to check if cavity walls and lofts have been properly insulated.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, the warmth lost annually through uninsulated lofts and cavity walls would be enough to heat 1.6 million homes a year.
The trust recommends using 670mm of insulation in a loft.
