On Thursday 23rd January, the Town Council hosted a Green Homes event, organised by Cllr Alex Kay, which was attended by over 70 people.
The aim of the evening was to address what families/individuals can do to reduce the carbon footprint of their homes, bearing in mind that we all have different needs, socio-economic situations and, in our area in particular, often rather old and sometimes listed buildings to contend with.
The audience heard talks from a variety of fascinating speakers, with a clear message throughout that simply switching all of our current energy requirements over to renewable sources was not the only answer. In order to achieve the required shift in carbon emissions that globally is contributing to the climate crisis, we also need to radically reduce consumption. If we continue to require the same amount of energy, then this has to not only be generated, but also stored, which presents many issues in itself.
In many ways, the situation is similar to that of the single-use plastic problem where recycling is not the only answer; a reduction in consumption/demand is far more impactful. This, along with the need for us to make our buildings more energy efficient, insulated and in a good state of repair, can go a long way to addressing the problem at source and enabling a viable transition to renewables.
But how to achieve this within our homes which are filled to the brim with appliances, draughts and planning restrictions? The answer is, as so often the case, multi-faceted, so keep an eye on our Climate Emergency page where we are compiling guidance information. There are also some fantastic online resources via:
https://www.cse.org.uk/our-work/work-area:home-energy
https://www.futureproof.uk.net
https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/your-home/saving-energy/
A huge thanks to the speakers who generously donated their time and expertise on the evening.
Toby Cambray – Founding Director at GreenGauge:
An award winning building & engineering consultancy specialising in sustainable, low energy design
Peter Capener – Managing Director at Bath & West Community Energy:
Community owned renewable energy projects
Mike Joyce – Future Proof:
A service managed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy. Futureproof aims to make it easy for homeowners & contractors in the West of England to carry out energy saving improvements & refurbishments with confidence.
Beth Williams – Build Collective
A structural engineer committed to environmental sustainability
Simon Forsyth – CarbonLens:
Specialists in cost saving through carbon management and resource efficiency.