Forum Topic

Council Backtracking on Climate Change Targets

While I'm sure some people will react with glee at the posturing of some councillors on a climate emergency and how they were going to prevent it coming up against the cold hard reality of implementing policies to actually achieve anything, to me the important thing is that attention has been focused on the core of the problem.Local authorities can make great play of how they are putting solar panels on schools and converting their vehicles to electric but this is a drop in the ocean compared to the extra emissions from badly insulated housing stock.The way forward has to be some sort of mechanism to force council's to prioritise this. One way could be a sliding scale of premiums and discounts to rents based on EPC ratings from council homes not on a District Heating System. This would be fairer than the current system because tenants with badly insulated homes are paying much more on energy bills. Councils that were performing badly on insulation would be financially penalised while those that were doing well would have a continued incentive to improve. At the same time, overall tenants would pay no more and those with the highest energy bills would get some relief.

Francis Rowe ● 6d11 Comments

https://www.devon.gov.uk/news/free-energy-efficiency-support-for-your-home-on-offer/https://www.devon.gov.uk/news/new-guide-will-give-advice-on-how-to-make-homes-more-energy-efficient/I believe that this is all something that includes working with the local technical colleges.  One of the biggest problems we have had in the is country is not having enough people trained to work on retrofitting buildings.

Philippa Bond ● 2d

https://news.exeter.gov.uk/devolution-deal-boosts-retrofit-housing-programme-in-exeter/

Philippa Bond ● 2d

Modern PVC windows including of a sash design must come with breathers which allows air to circulate without reducing their insulation benefit. As a tiny proportion of council housing stock is in areas where installation of such windows would not be allowed, they can be used in most older properties.

Francis Rowe ● 4d

Some areas have to use kiln dried wood which is expensive, or you have to store the wood correctly for 2 years prior to burning, also a filter should befitted to the outlet of the wood burner.

Janice Evans ● 4d

…but installing artificial insulation can easily upset the balance of ‘old’ houses by reducing natural air circulation and creating condensation and damp.  Open fires also kept things warm while maintaining air circulation, and traditional sash windows helped stale warm air escape while allowing cool fresh air to come in. Of course, we used to have plentiful supplies of cheap fuel in the form of coal or coke or wood, or anything else we wanted to throw on the fire, but that’s no longer allowed nor encouraged.

Peter Evans ● 5d

Only EPC applies to landlords, you can buy a property that has any EPC rating. Surely it’s up to the owners of property to improve heating efficiency as much as possible. The old stock is really expensive to upgrade double glazing sash windows etc. loft insulation is easy and not too expensive.

Jayne Thorburn ● 5d

Retrofitting our old and leaky housing IS desperately needed but isn't quite as easy as it might seem.  As so much of our housing is old much of it has also been altered.It is also easier to put the insulation on the outside on a row of terraced houses but many have now been altered with porches etc.  (Porches are often added not just to make more space but to maintain heat in the main rooms as you enter the home.)EPC's are necessary when selling and renting nowadays. Every so often the energy rating required increases. Some work has been done to make it easier for mass retrofitting:https://www.leti.uk/cedg

Philippa Bond ● 5d

I think it would be very costly,

Janice Evans ● 5d

Quite. The EPC should take account of the type of home but if you are a tenant in a badly insulated one, no matter if it is a bungalow or a flat, it is you who pays the inflated bill. The council at the moment has little incentive to do anything about it and less so if they take housing out of their calculations for determining whether or not they have reached NetZero.

Francis Rowe ● 6d

Homes vary so much, bungalows can require more heating, many don't have cavity walls and have large roof space, also position if you get a lot of sun it keeps the home much warmer,i have noticed the difference each time I have moved, the warmest was a terraced cottage,

Janice Evans ● 6d