Home loans for energy efficiency and conservation

OFGEM warned today that the price of gas and electricity bills could rise as much as 60% over the next few years as energy companies make the switch to more renewable sources of energy so it is welcome news that the Scottish Government is looking at what actions it will take around energy efficiency.

Yesterday it launched its consultation document on its energy efficiency action plan. At the same time it announced a new loans scheme for home owners wanting to take energy conservation measures such as loft and wall insulation. It is all on a pilot basis but at least it is moving in the right direction.

The Highlands and Islands have a disproportionate amount of hard to heat properties which coupled with the weather conditions means heat and electricity bills are on average higher. Conserving energy is the most efficient way to make it all go further.

The loan scheme includes money for solid wall insulation - an issue with many older properties that are hard to heat. This is an issue we have been raising as it has been missing from previous schemes as walls lose even more heat than lofts.

Loans are accessed through a number of ways including if you undertake a home energy report/ audit through the Energy Saving Trust. A number of communities are looking at this in the near future including: Assynt, North Harris and Galson Trust as part of their Climate Challenge projects.

Under the new loan scheme you can borrow money (from £500 to £10,000) to:

• Install cavity wall or solid wall insulation and/or loft insulation;
• Install renewable energy systems, such as wind turbines, solar water heating, heat pumps, small scale hydroelectric schemes and wood fuel heating systems;
• Replace old, inefficient boilers.

The energy efficiency or renewable measure funded by the loan must be recommended in one of the following documents:

• Energy Performance Certificate (within the home report completed when buying, renting or selling a home);

• Home energy report (produced on completion of an Energy Saving Trust Home Energy Check (HEC);

• Home report on renewables and energy efficiency (completed via a home visit from an Energy Saving Scotland home renewables advisor); or

• Energy Assistance Package (EAP) Stage Four managing agent letter detailing the work recommended.

You can find out more about all these documents and how to get them by calling your local Energy Saving Scotland advice centre on 0800 512 012.

For more information check out the Energy Savings Trust website.

Living in an old solid wall property, running on an ancient oil boiler this is something I'll be investigating for myself.

Good for the pocket, good for the planet

The nights are drawing in and across the country boilers and stoves are getting lit for the winter, so it’s not surprising that October 1st was Central Heating day. It’s not surprising either that this is the time of year when energy bills start to stack up.

Reducing heating costs is not only good for the pocket, it’s good for the planet, and there are lots of things you can do to keep warm without spending a fortune on fuel through the winter.

According to the Energy Savings Trust turning down the thermostat by one degree Celsius can shave eight per cent off heating costs.

If you are not brave enough to turn down the heating down a full degree or two in one go, try reducing the heat a small amount every day, you probably won’t notice the difference – at least until the utility bills come in. And if you have a timer, try setting it to come on half an hour later than last year.

Of course everyday energy efficiency is not just about central heating. Green Footsteps have a load of handy hints on how to keep your home cosy without impacting on your energy usage. For example, making use of thick curtains and soft furnishings for insulation, and some great ways to keep your kitchen nice and warm.

Reducing energy consumption is key to the future

The Government’s new energy adviser, David MacKay, has warned that unless new sources of energy are found the country will have a power shortage by 2016.

The suggestion that the United Kingdom will face blackouts less than a decade down the line should be enough motivation to persuade the government it is time to concentrate on energy conservation. Soon we will have to address the fact that we are living unsustainably.

As a country we have a choice - either live more efficiently, or live with less. By continuing to focus on energy production, the government is attempting to spend their way out of a crisis that has been caused by excessive consumption, rather than tackling the problem head on.

As the country’s leading wild land charity, the John Muir Trust is concerned that a reckless commitment to upping the build rate of energy projects will allow huge swathes of the country to be parcelled off for land hungry renewable energy schemes without proper assessment of each development.

The delivery of a secure, sustainable and affordable energy portfolio requires a commitment to protect the local and global environment from the effects of both energy production and consumption. The country urgently needs a national energy strategy that focuses on conserving energy and on energy efficiency, as well as producing it by more sustainable means. .

As John Muir said more than 100 years ago, “Not blind opposition to progress, but opposition to blind progress.”

GREEN ISLAND FEVER!

Here on the Isle of Eigg, we want to use what we've learnt along our carbon-busting journey to inspire and inform others. We've achieved loads, but our 'to-do' list continues to be added to as new ideas come along. One thing we have learnt is we're not alone; there are many communities across Scotland and beyond trying to do their bit to counteract the effects of climate change, live lighter on the planet and save cash as well as our collective futures.

Eigg is just one Green Island - but you don't need to be surrounded by water to be an island. Any small community of less than 100 folk can be a Green Island, working together to make a difference.

And why small, why less than 100? If you know who you're working with, recognise their face as well as their name, we think it's easier to achieve something together. So if you're an office, a class, a street, village or even a club of people who share an interest, you can all be Green Islands.

Whether you're trying to something small and simple, or complex and long term, by joining together and coming up with the simplest of plans, your community could be a Green Island too.

Please join us, and be listed on our website http://www.islandsgoinggreen.org/ as a Green Island. If you're already up and running, then tell us a bit about what you're up to at You Tell Us and we'll add your website to ours. If you're not sure where to begin, then we hope you find our simple Five Step Plan is a handy tool. Any questions - drop us a line!

Oh, and if you're wondering why RIP in the photo? It's Eigg Primary saying Rest in Peace to all the generators that USED to provide Eigg's electricity. Since the switch on of Eigg Electric in February 2008, our power has been courtesy of wind, sun and water. Peace, perfect peace and 24 hour power for the first time. Deep joy.

The search for installers continues

Well today has proved interesting. I thought I'd go back to basics and do as recommended by the government and check out the Energy Savings Trust information. On their website I put in the postcode for the area on Skye I'm trying to find insulation for to see what grants might be available.

That was easy it came up with British Gas. I phoned their number, as on the website, and got through to Scottish Gas Wall and Loft Insulation. Good, I'm on the right track, press the correct number, listen to the dreadful music then speak to a human being. Then the fun begins.

"The Isle of Skye? Do you know if that is part of the British Isles? I'll just go and check."
My affirmation that it was part of the British Isles is ignored - back to that music. Clearly I am no longer speaking to someone from Scottish Gas as surely they would know that...

"Yes madam, it is part of the British Isles and we can help. We have a special offer on - prices have just been reduced from £250 to £199 for a typical 3 bedded semi detached property!"

Excellent I think - that is just what I'm looking for.

"We just have to fill in a form"

Piece of cake I think. As I suspect, a survey will have to be done first so I enquire as to where someone will come from to do the work. My British Gas man thinks it will be someone from Glasgow and asks innocently how far away that is. He sounds a little stunned when I inform him that this is a round trip of 400 miles and ventures that maybe there is someone closer than that.

"What was your postcode?" he enquires with a change in tone " I'll need to check this out."

More music...........

That was enough to halt proceedings.

"Oh, we don't cover there at all. You could try the Mark Group based in Glasgow."

I have already spoken to them. They, like pretty well everyone else on the list of accredited installers are part of a big chain. In this case I was told to phone their head office in Leicester to get information about a quote to Skye ( which of course would require a visit).

Meantime I had found an installer who would quote without a survey - at last a little common sense. This company, based in Stirling gave me a quote for between £650 and £750 depending on the type of insulation material used for a 3 bedded semi-detached property. How is that for an incentive to line your loft!! I wonder what the payback period would be for this easy measure.

When I enquired as to why the cost is so high, I got the answer I expected. It is primarily because of the cost and length of time required to travel from Stirling to Skye and back again. Imagine if there were local people who could do this using locally available materials...........it takes 1-2 hours to line your average loft.

On the plus side - if a community organsied a campaign for insulating lofts - it is likely they would be able, with assistance from Energy Savings Trust Scotland to get a much better deal i.e. in the region of £200 and free to some householders. Check out who can advise locally tel 0800 512 012.

Galson Trust and North Harris Trust will likely benefit from the announcement by the Government that they will insulate some homes in specific areas including Lewis and Harris but that is about as far as it goes for most of the Highlands and Islands. Isaly have successfully been down the road of getting insulation - though not with out difficulty so I'm away to find out about their experiences. The search continues....

Climate change plans and the search for installers

The British Government published its UK Low Carbon Transition Plan last week for moving the UK to a low carbon economy. It looks at how to transform our power; homes and communities; workplaces and jobs; transport; farming and waste. A key aspect of this is the creation of more than 1.2 million "green jobs". This would seem to be good news for us all in this time of recession especially for smaller and more remote communities where opportunities can be limited.

Unfortunately the current system means it is unlikely any small businesses in rural communities will have a look in:

I've been searching for installers who can give me quotes for doing loft insulation work on a couple of properties on Skye. It is easy to find the correct website for the list of the 'accredited installers' but that is about as easy as it gets. If you want to get someone who is local then it seems that central Scotland is about local as it gets. A survey is needed by most in order to get a quote. That is a round trip of some 400 miles, just for a quote, before any work starts...

If you want to use a local skilled tradesperson then there is no subsidy or grant available unless they are accredited. To become accredited costs several thousand pounds. It is an onerous prospect for a small outfit, involving a considerable amount of time and it is unlikely there will be any financial return as you are then competing against the 'big boys' who can buy in bulk and provided the economies of scale. The accredited installers are all part of large companies and they can afford to go through the accreditation process.

So, in trying to reduce the carbon footprint of a building, more road miles are expended than would seem necessary as there is an 'accreditation' box to be ticked. The system is apparently in place to provide quality control. Surely that is more easily monitored if the person who did the job lives locally and you can call them back if anything needs sorted?

At a workshop on retro-fitting ( i.e. insulating existing properties rather than new build) at the recent Comrie Climate Challenge Conference one of the attendees expressed his frustration at his attempts to establish a small sustainable business using sheep's wool for insulation. The carbon footprint of this is considerably lower than the glass wool fibre and mineral wool fibre and would seem to offer opportunities for wool in an otherwise difficult market but the funding is not there to support it and as far as I can work out no-one using this material is on the accreditated list. This method is particularly good for older stone properties as it has high breathability and is a good way to use up poorer quality wool.

It would seem the time is right to ask for changes to be made. Much of the regulation is governed by OFGEM. We need to think long term so that how and what is delivered by way of energy efficiency measures really starts to support local sustainability and a low carbon future. Wouldn't it be great if the actual costs of producing something in carbon terms ( the embodied carbon) was considered as well as the cost in pounds. Then the logic of using local people and local produce would become sensible rather than cheapness being the main factor.

Whose plate will it end up on?

In an increasing number of communities there is an appetite to reduce food miles and explore ways to use what is available locally. One food resource available potentially in abundance in some rural and remoter communities is deer.

It seems a simple process - kill the deer, butcher and process them locally, then sell locally.

Sadly, the venison industry is anything but simple. The growing taste for venison means that we are actually importing venison from the other side of the world with it being flown thousands of miles from New Zealand to meet the demand from processors, supermarkets and restaurants for this lean meat.

At the same time, according to Scotland on Sunday over a third of the venison produced by the £70.4 million a year industry gets sent to the continent - primarily by the game dealers – to end up being stuffed into German sausages.

Part of the problem is there are restrictions on when deer can be culled, so they are not available all year round – unless farmed. Another issue is licensing. Historically most of the deer culled has gone to licensed game dealers who can get more from exporting than selling locally ( this is the fate of much deer culled on John Muir Trust land as it is for many estates).

Investment in local butchering and processing is a costly affair. The capital costs for deer larders that meet the standards and facilities to skin the beasts make it prohibitive for many communities to look at.

So are there other ways to get local food to your plate?

The Fife Diet encourages people to sign-up to eating food from the region, monitor their progress and share their experience. They are working closely with suppliers and local farmers. The group aims to shorten the supply chain, reduce food miles, create innovative distribution services and re-localise produce. This approach is meeting with some success with some 800 people already signed up to the initiative.

In Assynt and North Lewis, thanks to funding through the climate challenge fund communities are hoping to look at the issues around food production and food miles.

According to research some 70% of food miles are created by the consumer driving out to buy food.

Meanwhile, next time you have a plate of venison, check where it comes from. Has it taken 11,000 airmiles to arrive on your plate from New Zealand or a maximum of 370 airmiles from Scotland?