MOST of us want to do something about global warming, but what can we do?

What if I told you that one of the best things we can do to reduce our individual carbon footprints will also make our lives more comfortable and could pay for itself within a few years?

If you have a home (even if you rent, please keep reading), then insulating it can save a couple of tonnes per year from your carbon footprint. That’s a significant figure for something that doesn’t cost a fortune and has many benefits too.

In a house built with uninsulated cavity walls and loft, about a third of the heat is lost through the walls and a quarter through the roof. Only 10% is lost through windows.

If your home is older with solid walls, the heat loss could be even greater. If you have 10cm thick insulation in the loft, increasing it to 27cm thickness is now recommended, and is far more effective.

Insulating these spaces will significantly reduce heat loss. It will make the house warmer and more comfortable in winter, and keep it cooler on hot summer days (of which we are already getting many more!). It will cut heating bills and can reduce noise too.

Even if you rent a home, the government has introduced a minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES Regulations). Your landlord could be obliged to improve the property to the minimum standard and insulating it could be the most cost-effective way of doing this.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy has advice leaflets (www.cse.org.uk/resources) on insulating different homes.

In the meantime, ensuring you close the curtains at dusk, use door draught stoppers and fill cracks with caulk can help reduce your heating bills too.

We are working on a low-cost or free course (depending on funding) with many tips like this.

Our aim is to help people understand their own carbon footprints and the best ways to reduce it.

If you’d like to find out more about us please visit carbonliteracysomerset.wordpress.com, or email carbonliteracysomerset@gmail.com.

TRACY SAMPHIER
Taunton Transition Town