“We need to move rapidly towards #retrofit being the default approach, rather than demolish and new-build. Retrofitting buildings to the current energy standards ‘costs’ about half of the carbon emissions of the equivalent new building”
“All political parties seem to have got on to the same bandwagon of the need for more new homes to be built. And yet what should be done first is retrofitting the homes we have that are currently unfit for habitation.”
I went to Parliament today for the launch of the report: Left Out in the Cold: The Hidden Impact of Cold Homes by Angela Donkin and Professor Sir Michael Marmot.
The report was funded by Friends of the Earth and makes the case for retrofitting homes not just for long term carbon reduction, but for the immediate alleviation of the physical, mental and economic pain of fuel poverty.
#Tories have not come anywhere near addressing the need for #insulation and #retrofit because of class snobbery.
They have no trust in local councils or tradespersons to deliver, so they micromanage them with ever more onerous reporting requirements and then wonder why no is able to spend their funds and it conveniently gets returned to the Treasury.
We are ruled by bean counters who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
"When designing homes for extreme heat, the overarching goal is simply to keep the building occupants cool enough to avoid health risks, particularly when the power is out or A/C is not available. Consider the following when designing a house to be resistant to extreme heat and extend the "hours of safety" that it can provide:" #heatwaves#retrofit#homes#survival#DisasterPreparedness
Attic cover retrofit. AKA Styrofoam sandwich. Held together with duct tape, because Styrofoam bits are horrible. Also built a little square piece that goes above the hatch to fit this like a puzzle, it got late so I did not take a photo. #insulation#energyefficiency#retrofit#diy#energy#climate
Finding windows which meet the "Energy Star Most Efficient" U-factor (insulation measurement) of <= 0.20 looks to be a challenge for suppliers in Southern California. Was able to get close, but not to the highest standard. (SHGC--a measure of how much heat your windows absorb in the sun--I did manage to beat by a significant factor). #Windows#EnergyEfficiency#climate#energy#remodeling#retrofit
Stuff I should have done when my walls were open: should have insulated the hot water pipes (which would reduce the amount of time spent for people bleeding out cold water before showers). Too late now! #Energy#retrofit
Tenmat Recessed light covers - one solution for leaky can lights in the attic. Made of rock wool. You use expanding foam to seal these over cans, keeping air from exiting from the cans and allowing for insulation added on top. #insulation#energyefficiency#energy#weatherization
The other option is to replace the recessed cans entirely with fixtures and seal the air leakage, at about the same cost (~$17 each). This solution is more amenable to the property owner here as it does not modify what they have installed, and is basically transparent to them (aside from dramatically reducing air loss from these installations... about 50% of the air lost into the attic are from fixtures like this, per the studies). #energy#energyefficiency#retrofit
Okay, not the neatest job, but light covers installed and sealed in place with fire block foam. This will prevent air loss from can light to attic! #insulation#diy#energyefficiency#retrofit
"If you look at a can light with an infrared camera, though, you’ll usually see evidence of air leaks at the perimeter of each fixture. In most cases, these innocent-looking circles are actually holes in your ceiling.
Hooray, my current landlords (i.e. my relatives, who I am renting a house from while we are out of ours) approved my plan to insulate their attic (which is dreadfully leaky).
Spent afternoon making a #retrofit gingerbread house for work event tomorrow…it has solar panels and an air source heat pump!
I am slightly worried about the roof construction though as I left off the chimney thinking I didn’t want an open fire or wood burning stove…but now fear it might have been vital to holding the roof panels together!
Fingers crossed it makes it into the office in one piece…