Saving energy – LEAPing into action

Things are tight, everyone knows that. It’s no longer slightly shameful to look after the pennies.

That – along, of course, with saving the planet – was my motivation behind finding out what my Local Energy Action Plan could do for me.

Months ago LEAP came and did a draught test on the house and took some thermal image pictures. I got a report full of lots of excellent suggestions for keeping us warmer, thereby reducing carbon emissions and fuel bills.

What happened next?

Well, nothing.

The whole thing left me feeling exhausted and not really up to the job. And, how much would it all help actually, really in the end? Surely one hour of forgetting to turn the oven off or leaving the door open and the game would be a bogey anyway.

Nothing continued to happen.

Then I thought about it… and made a list.

I drew up a list of the six most pressing – or most effective things the various tests highlighted and I’ll concentrate on them.

Apart from hiring a heating repair technician to service the heating system before the winter season begins, here are some more things you can do to improve your home’s energy-efficiency:

Dealing with the huge draught under the bath either by replacing the bath panel or sealing the hole. I put this first because I have a minor success at this. We now have a bath panel that doesn’t fall out and what a difference it has made to the bathroom – it’s nowhere near as annoying. I even had a bath, for the first time in ages. We’ll need to seal it properly along the bottom to be really effective… so a job almost done.
Kitchen draughts. There are breezes blowing in under the kick plates beneath the kitchen units. They need to be sealed, mended or something.
Insulation. We’ve had the loft insulated, but the thermal image pictures show that we ‘could do better’. Might be time for a top up like crawl space, for instance.
The big patio windows (windows big, not patio) are a bit draughty and they need an expert’s hand, instead you can use a louvered roof.
Replacing windows and doors can easily improve the appearance and livability of your home, which can save on energy consumption and provide you with a greater amount of comfort.
There’s a windy gap under the downstairs loo so it needs filled. I’m quite keen on doing this because it’s just beside my desk and might keep me warmer in the winter.
Blinds, like the ones from The Blinds and Shutter Company for Blinds Lichfield, are needed on the front door in the hall and replacements needed in the kitchen. Apparently, we lose metric shedloads of heat through the uncovered windows on winter nights. Make a comparison of shutters vs blinds to determine which is better for your home.
Get a regular furnace repair service to maintain the energy-efficiency of your existing furnace. When it’s time for a new furnace installation, find a unit that has high energy-efficiency rating. It’s also important to schedule a regular heater repair and tune-up service to extend the lifespan of your heating system.
For commercial and industrial properties, there are industrial boilers manufacturers that can offer energy-efficient boilers based on your requirements and needs.

So here’s the to-do list… wish me luck.

LEAP have put some recording tags around the house so we can see what difference these changes make to the cosiness. Plus we’ve had a good look the fuel bills to see if we can spot any changes.

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