How Can I Stop Climate Change: What is it and how to help

Changing light bulbs can yield yet more savings – in fact the International Energy Agency estimates that we could save 10 per cent of our global electricity bill by switching to energy-saving light bulbs. Each 100 W bulb replaced by a compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb will save up to 38 kg of carbon dioxide a year – and will last 12 times as long. Incandescent tungsten filament light bulbs are to be phased out by 2011 and LEDs (light-emitting diodes) could become 80 per cent efficient in the future. Simply switching off the lights can make a difference too. Research has shown that we waste £180 million worth of electricity by leaving lights switched on – and 770,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

If we were more aware of how much energy we were using, the chances are we would use far less. So, rather than hiding the electricity meter away under the stairs, putting it on display can help save energy, cutting electricity consumption by between 5 and 15 per cent. Households can install free meters as part of a government-backed trial and there’s an increasing number of canny gadgets to keep you on top of your home’s electricity use.

top tip

The Energy PerformanceCertificate (issued by anEnergy Assessor) is a majorpart of the new HomeInformation Packs (HIPs)which are now required inEngland and Wales whenyou sell your home (right).The certificate shows yourhome’s energy efficiencyrating from A (mostefficient) to G (least), andits environmental impact(CO2) rating as well asadvising how both of thesecan be improved.

save to spend

It’s a curious thing: although there’s huge potential for saving energy in our homes, offices and industry, evidence suggests that energy savings can, perversely, lead to more energy use.

A theory known as the Khazzoom-Brookes Postulate describes how, in a free market, increased energy efficiency results in cheaper prices – so consumption increases. Add to this the fact that companies take advantage of savings by spending the money elsewhere. Halve your gas bill and you have extra cash to spend on other things, which are likely to have their own carbon price. This is known as the rebound effect.

Energy efficiency is good for householders and for business. It means that more can be done with less. It also means that people who previously could not afford to have warm homes, may now be able to. But if the end result is an increasing demand for energy, this could mean more carbon dioxide emissions.

Not everyone agrees with the Khazzoom-Brookes Postulate, and there is evidence to suggest that the rebound effect is small compared to the total amount of energy and emissions saved. But the theory sounds a warning. Being more efficient is the first, necessary step. But we need to make sure the savings are invested in further efficiencies.

the art of the possible – the energy-saving house

Six low-energy homes are being built at Nottingham University as part of a teaching project run by the university’s School of the Built Environment.

Reducing energy demand was the starting point for the houses. But it was also crucial, for the purposes of the demonstration, that they did not cost more than conventional properties.

Five of the six houses were designed with different building methods and the latest energy-saving technologies – an upgrade of a 1930s house would complete the project. When the homes are finished, students or staff of the university will live in them, and their energy use will be monitored continually via a website.

Dr Mark Gillott, project leader, explains that making the homes desirable was crucial: ‘We wanted to give the houses a wow factor when people walk in. We want people to think “I want to live in this house.”’

Innovative building techniques are key to making the homes affordable. A four-bedroomed family house – the first property built – uses a lightweight recycled steel frame, rather than bricks and mortar, but with its pitched roof, looks like a conventional home. The frame, which took less than five days to put up, is insulated with plasterboard designed to absorb and give out heat. Savings in construction time and labour costs meant more money could be spent on the latest technologies to generate and conserve energy.

The foundations use an insulated concrete framework; but rather than conventional concrete this is made primarily from ground granulated blast furnace slag – a byproduct of the iron industry, which produces a tenth of the carbon dioxide emissions produced in the manufacture of Portland cement. Good design and renewable technologies combine to provide power and heat. An underground pump channels warm air (11-12°C) into the south-facing conservatory on the ground floor of the house, where it is warmed by the sun, and then pumped into the rest of the house.

In the loft a ventilation and heat-recovery unit converts solar energy from roof-mounted panels to produce hot water and warm air for under-floor heating. South-facing windows are triple-glazed and have blinds and external louvres to stop it getting too hot in summer. Balconies add to natural shade.

Smart energy controls allow the house to respond to changes in the weather – or to be controlled remotely via a website or a phone line. Appliances are all energy-saving models and lighting uses highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

A water-saving system uses rainwater for the outside tap, washing machine and downstairs shower; and water from the bath and shower for flushing toilets. Aerators in the shower fittings increase the water pressure, and sensors on tap fittings ensure they are only used when needed.

Dr Gillott says, ‘It’s designed so that there’s plenty of daylight, and it’s a warm and comfortable place to be in winter and ventilated and airy in summer.’ Good design, he emphasises, is crucial. ‘It’s what we say to the architecture students all the time. Don’t leave it to the engineers to bolt on solutions afterwards.’

Two of the five new-build properties will cost under £60,000 and Dr Gillott hopes one of these will achieve zero-carbon status. ‘There are no barriers from the technology to say that we cannot generate all the energy we need. There’s no reason why we can’t generate a zero-carbon home,’ he says. ‘The question is whether the industry will embrace it quickly enough to achieve it. Really, it is only legislation that can make the difference.’

the workplace

Just as big energy savings could be made in the housing sector, we can also smarten up the carbon impact of the workplace – whether that’s a major corporation, government building or a home study.

Energy-efficient buildings play an important role. Good design can, for example, make the most of natural light and provide shade from too much sun. Here are three examples:

A recent Royal Navy building in Arbroath uses thermal heat stores and sunpipes to make the most of natural warmth and daylight in an energy-efficient office building for the Royal Marines.

The Swiss Re building, affectionately known as the gherkin, was designed as ‘London’s first environmentally progressive working environment’, making use of natural light and ventilation, with an extracted air cooling system.

A Tesco store at Diss in Norfolk is designed to use 20 per cent less energy. Small steps such as adding doors to chill display units can make a huge difference to a supermarket’s energy use.

For what you can do inthe workplace, turn toChapter 9.

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Making the scale of change needed to tackle climate change will take more than a handful of companies doing their bit. Good news, then, that one of the UK’s biggest employers, the National Health Service (NHS), is trying to get to grips with its energy use. The NHS employs more than 1 million people and estimates suggest it emits 1 million tonnes of carbon a year. Hospitals have been set targets for reducing emissions and the Carbon Trust (a government-funded independent company that helps businesses and the public sector to do this) is working with hospitals and primary care trusts to find the most cost-effective ways of achieving their emission targets. Tom Cumberlege, Public Sector Manager at the Carbon Trust, says part of the challenge is to get all the staff involved, rather than leaving energy management to the estate manager. As with homes, schools and commercial buildings, the staff at hospitals who are there day in day out can make a big difference to their impact on the environment.

changing behaviour, cutting emissions

Changing the way people behave is one way of cutting emissions in the workplace, according to Chris Large. Chris manages Global Action Plan’s Environment Champions programme, working with businesses to reduce their impact on the environment. He recruits volunteer Champions from across an organisation to help identify how changes can be made. The Champions come up with ways of persuading their colleagues to save energy, recycle more and use fewer resources. They audit environmental impacts across the business, looking at energy use, lights left on, waste and recycling rates. ‘Champions think of things that people can do to make a difference,’ Chris explains. ‘It can be really simple guidance, such as how to print double-sided, or how to spell-check before your print.’

Some offices have introduced rewards for people who turn off their computers at the end of the day; others issue parking-ticket style warnings to those who forget. Champions also work on ways to get their message across. Knowing your office throws away a stack of paper higher than Big Ben can motivate people to think before they print, Chris says.

Three to four months into the project, the Champions carry out a follow-up audit to see what they have achieved.

And the results? Staff at the Britannia Building Society’s London head office, to take one example, boosted paper recycling by 59 per cent; in the Leek office, staff saved £3,000 on fuel bills. A survey of employees’ attitudes at Britannia’s Leek office found that nearly three-quarters claimed to have changed their habits at work as a result of the scheme, and nearly a third said they had also changed what they do at home.

a degree cooler - London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is one of 48 universities so far taking part in a government-sponsored effort to curb the carbon impact of getting a degree in the UK.

With more than 170,000 square metres of floor space and 40 properties around the capital the LSE is energy-hungry: in 2006/07 its energy budget was some £2.5 million for gas, oil and electricity. The use of renewable electricity in many buildings has already reduced the greenhouse gas emissions significantly to 6,920 tonnes in 2007 and numerous energy efficiency projects underway which shave another 1,000 tonnes off that.

The Higher Education Carbon Management Scheme, supported by the Carbon Trust, offers institutions advice on cutting waste, energy, emissions – and bills. And it seems to be working: the universities taking part in 2006 generated a saving of 55,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and £3 million.

LSE’s Environmental Manager, Victoria Hands says: ‘The School is looking at all areas of activity and involving a broad range of stakeholders to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Its new Academic Building – designed to achieve an ‘excellent’ rating by the Building Research Establishment’s environmental method (BREEAM) – incorporates a number of energy-saving features. For starters they didn’t simply bulldoze the old building and start again, with all the new materials and waste that would imply: parts of the old building have been re-used with the foundation, the façade and the structure reintegrated into the design. A ground-source pump extracts cold water from an aquifer approximately 75 metres deep to provide comfort cooling to teaching rooms and lecture theatres. The basement houses recycling facilities and secure bicycle parking, showers and lockers. A highly efficient boiler has replaced the 1980s model, making a significant impact on energy consumption. Elongated windows on the lower floors and an atrium allow lots of daylight in, reducing the need for electric light, which is further controlled by movement detectors. Offices and seminar rooms have adjustable fan units which may be turned off if windows are open. Lecture theatres and classrooms have air quality and temperature sensors to regulate heating or cooling. Solar thermal collectors on the roof will supplement hot water requirements. The roof has also been strengthened to support two wind turbines that may be installed with the appropriate planning permission. A rooftop garden attracts birds and insects.

LSE has adopted sustainable and renewable energy measures throughout its buildings. New monitoring systems regulate indoor temperatures providing heating and cooling in the most efficient way. These systems are kept at a minimum during holidays. A software programme controls energy consumption in many buildings and halls of residence.

Director of planning and development, Julian Robinson, says he’s proud to be working for an organisation that is serious about its wider environmental obligations. He sees the new academic building setting a benchmark ‘which we will expect to exceed on our next major building project’.

a healthy approach to cutting emissions

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London spends more than £10 million a year on energy – so finding ways to cut consumption made financial sense as well as helping to cut carbon emissions.

Working with the Carbon Trust, the two hospitals, which treat 750,000 patients every year, aim to knock a fifth off their carbon emissions, with savings of 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide already identified.

Good housekeeping and better energy awareness among the 9,500 staff will help reduce energy use, says David Porter, Head of Estates Management at Guy’s and St Thomas’. But the Trust is also investing in improved technology to boost efficiency.

Staff are encouraged to switch off lights, recycle more and think about energy use as they go about their jobs, with posters around the sites and energy-saving messages on the Trust’s intranet. Staff energy reps meet regularly to come up with new ideas.

A £2 million programme is upgrading lighting controls, improving insulation and fitting thermostatic valves on radiators in the hospitals, with estimated annual savings of £1 million. Maintenance staff are looking at how the hospital buildings can be run more efficiently, ensuring that ventilation systems are turned down when units are not in use. Plans to install combined heat and power on both sites will allow the hospitals to generate some of their own electricity, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions significantly.

David Porter says, ‘Everyone can make a contribution, no matter how small each individual action appears. Small changes can add up to significant amounts, both in terms of financial savings and environmental benefits.’