Kevin’s eco opportunities
Trying to be a little more planet-friendly? Like most things in life, it starts at home – but knowing where to start, or whether your efforts are worthwhile, can be tricky. Homes style guru Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel Four’s Grand Designs, shares five ways to make our properties eco-friendly...
Rely less on central heating
“Start with the simple things, like turning the thermostat down, putting on an extra pullover instead, making a hot water bottle at bedtime, and buying some slippers.”
Use straightforward insulation methods
“We could all probably insulate our attics more, draught-proof our windows and doors, and maybe fit secondary or double glazing. Insulation may not seem sexy, but it’s much cheaper and delivers quicker cash and energy savings than solar panels or a heat-exchanging thermodynamic hybrid heat pump with go-faster stripes.
“Men, I’m afraid, tend to be seduced more by kit than reason. If you find yourself using the word ‘tech’, be wary – my bitter experience is that the more complicated you make your home, the more there is to go wrong.
“Make sure your home is fully insulated with good airtightness and simple ventilation systems. It’s called a fabric-first approach. Only then should you consider the bolt-on technology.”
Check out new glazing technologies
“These fascinate me because the windows in our homes are effectively holes through which heat pours. Metal coatings on glass and vacuum-extracted systems, like Pilkington’s Spacia, deliver excellent performance. I’m trialling them to see how they perform over time.”
Be mindful of where things come from and how they’re made
“When I buy free-range tomatoes or FairTrade toothpaste, the product is usually accompanied by a little story and some pictures of the people that made it. Lovely.
“I’m a champion of authenticity. It connects the people who make things to the people that consume them, and seems to damage the planet and all its species a little less along the way.
“It’s shameful that when you or I buy a sofa, some curtain fabric, a pair of jeans or a dining table, there is virtually zero information about the welfare conditions in the factory where it’s from, the chemicals used in manufacture, or the damage wreaked on the environment in its making.”
Tap up the experts
“If you’re designing a house from scratch, talk to an architect who’ll understand designing for orientation, passive solar gain, maximum winter sunlight, shading and minimum summer overheating.
“You can design in thermal mass with heavy concrete floors or earth walls, humidify and cool the airflow through the house with a buried air-duct or a pond outside a window, allow hot air to be purged through a skylight at the top of the house and allow for some cooling cross-ventilation.
“There. Easy. So speak to an architect.”