Homeowners who wish to reduce their carbon footprints, along with their
gas and electricity bills, may wish to dig out their toolboxes and carry out some green DIY.
Michael Holmes, co-presenter of Channel Five's 'I Own Britain's Best Home', has claimed that as the credit crunch rumbles on, there has been a move towards people investing in environmentally-friendly home improvements, which may include technology to generate
wind energy.
Brits keen to save be going green"There's definitely a move towards more ecology and, not surprisingly, people are more concerned about running costs and the environment," said Mr Holmes.
One such task many consumers are carrying out is the installation of a
ground or air source heat pump as a replacement to a
gas boiler - which can result in significantly lower gas bills.
The Energy Saving Trust explains that
ground source heat pumps extract heat stored in outdoor space and use it to power central heating or to heat water, with Mr Holmes stating that it works like a refrigerator in reverse.
As well as reducing
gas bills, such technology can also help households to lower their carbon emissions, by around 540kg a year, as well as cutting any electricity waste used to power radiators.
Insulating a way to a greener homeAnother green home improvement proving popular in the UK is
insulation, Mr Holmes asserted.
He noted that as people become concerned about wasting energy, many households were quick to top up their
insulation in order to reduce heat loss.
And Britons who are keen to
go green may soon be able to receive a financial helping hand in achieving this goal.
The UK Green Building Council recently proposed offering households low-interest loans to put towards
energy efficient technology and
insulation.
This money would then be paid back over 25 years using the money that has been saved through reduced
gas and electric bills, the group suggested.
