Down To Earth Designer » Costs

The Great British Refurb

Cheryl — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:55:16 +0000

Good ol’ Kevin McCloud.

According to the Guardian, ”There are approximately 26m homes in Britain, most of them as well insulated as a rabbit hutch, most of which will still be in existence in 2050. And those homes are responsible for around 27% of Britain’s carbon emissions.”

The Government’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. As the Great British Refurb website states, this ”is a hopelessly unrealistic target. Unless we can improve their eco-credentials.”

So, Kevin is delivering a pile of petitions to the Prime Minister requesting that the government do more to support green refurbishment of existing homes. Sign the petition at the Great British Refurb website.

Photo by peterastn.

Grants for home improvement

Cheryl — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 08:01:24 +0000

In case you own (I don’t), here’s a couple of resources for finding home improvement grants:

Energy Saving Trust

Money Saving Expert’s Grant Grabbing page

Just Use Less

Cheryl — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:44:11 +0000

I met someone last night who made an interesting comment. She said that she realized recently that she ”hadn’t gotten her head around using less” and how simply using less was environmentally friendly.

So how can we get our heads around using less? It could be…less water, less electricity, less pesticides, less packaging, less space (that’s easy here in London!), less stuff, less clothes, less toilet paper (just came across Cheryl Crow’s comment on that one)…

How do you use less?

Photo by clairity.

Is Eco Design More Expensive?

Cheryl — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:21:26 +0000

Ok, I reckon I should address this question sooner rather than later. I often answer, “it can be, or it can be cheaper.” But really, what I want to say, is it depends on how you look at it.

If you look at individual products, then the eco option can appear more expensive (although not always!). Of course it also depends on your budget and what you are used to paying for things.

Often its a case of comparing up front costs to lifecycle costs. Studies of newly built eco homes in the US show that while the upfront costs tend to be slightly higher, these are quickly offset by the lower operational costs. Low energy lightbulbs also cost more upfront but the save you money in the end.

Another way to look at it is the indirect costs that come from non-eco products… what if they increase your health care bill down the road, or cause loss of work? Or increase the overall cost of healthcare in society? For most products the price doesn’t reflect the full cost to the environment of the product. Including these costs can make eco products very competitive, although that subjective process can be tricky.

So my thinking is that knowing a product minimizes damage or even benefits the planet does have some value, and usually it’s worth paying for.

Photo by Clip Art (really!).