environment
Do you do your bit? Zoe Langford went to the streets in Haslemere to find out what YOU do to try reduce your impact on the environment
Name: Jason Brooks Lives: Midhurst Comment: ‘I never litter, I recycle, and we went on holiday to Cornwall instead of going abroad.’ Name: Chrystal Lives: Haslemere Comment: ‘ I always recycle and try to make sure any lights are off when I’m not using them!’
Name: Deana Horsey Lives: Chiddingfold Comment: ‘I always recycle and we grow our own vegetables. We also had our holiday in Scotland this year, we didn’t fly anywhere.’ Name: Simon Geddes Lives: Petersfield Comment: ‘I recycle everything: plastic, paper…everything we use.’
Name: Arthur Thumb Lives: Haslemere Comment: ‘I do what I can, we use manure from the horses as fertiliser, and we recycle.’
Name: Elena Lives: Haslemere (Originally from Germany) Comment: ‘I ride my bike a lot, I don’t really drive anywhere. I take the train if I’m going anywhere further away. I recycle plastics, glass and paper, and I try to shop locally.’
Name: Mrs Collyer Lives: Haslemere Comment: ‘We recycle and we make compost for the garden. We grow veg and shop locally, and we try not to go abroad for holidays.’
Name: Wendy Annis Lives: Grayshott Comment: ‘Well, I ride my bike all the time, and I’m waiting for the bus right now! For the past three years I’ve kept my central heating off through the winter. It’s hard, but everyone should make a few sacrifices, and I have lots of clothes and blankets to keep me warm. I’m in my mid 60s, lots of younger people could manage it too!’
Name: Keeleigh, Tom and Jack Live: Farncombe, Lion Green and Camelsdale Comments: ‘I turn off all the electricity in the house when I’m not using it.’ – Keeleigh ‘I don’t smoke, and I’m just on my way to recycle some cans now.’ – Tom ‘I walk everywhere and I try not to eat very much meat.’ – Jack
Sunshine Superhome Paul Ciniglio is leading the way in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, by converting his house into a ‘Superhome.’ By Natalie Todd
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aul Ciniglio has taken a big step towards change by dramatically altering his home near Petersfield to be much more energy efficient. He owns the first ‘Superhome’ in Hampshire achieving an 80% drop in emissions. His south-facing roof is adorned with two different types of solar panel. The first is to produce hot water: since April Paul estimates he has had 95 per cent of his hot water for free. The second type of panel creates renewable electricity which runs the electrical appliances and lights in his home. For every kilowatt-hour of energy Paul produces at his home, he receives 41.3p under the new Feed in Tariff– even if he is the one using the free electricity he generates. And, for each unit he sends back to the grid, he receives 12
an additional 3p. Although these figures may not seem large – the solar panels on Paul’s roof have already created 1460 kilowatt hours in just 8 months – that’s about £600 income. He expects to send half of the energy the panels create back to the grid each year. Among many other changes, Paul has also invested in vastly improving the thermal insulation and air tightness in his home: typically 35% of heat in the home is lost through walls, and 25 per cent through the roof. The provision of heat and power to the United Kingdom’s 24 million homes is responsible for over a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide is the principle gas associated with the cause of global warming. The government, in line with the
Paul Ciniglio left Climate Change Act, has plans to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. The domestic sector, roughly 500,000 homes, will have to go through whole house energy refurbishments similar to Sunpower CO2ttage each year until 2050.
Some 25 per cent of the 250 visitors to Sunpower CO2ttage since Easter have gone on to spend over £5,000 on changing their own home. www.sustainable-energyacademy. org.uk/superhomes/petersfield L Issue 24 October/November 2010