Dave Raval

Sometimes sitting at home isn’t great for the environment either! But fortunately some things are quite easy to do to change that. I recycle everything that I can. Before that of course, it’s better to reduce the use of ‘stuff ’ and to re-use things wherever possible. I don’t buy products where there is excessive packaging. Just ask the rest of my family about how I keep on reusing pieces of paper and telling them not to waste too much water! I compost and I have a wormery for food waste. In terms of products in the house, when I have the budget to buy new appliances, I make sure they are approved by the Energy Savings Trust .

Everyone can take such actions at home. But then there is the bigger picture of changing the building you live in. Of course, one of the biggest problems in places like Hackney is that because so many people rent, they are unable to make changes to the property, but the landlords don’t care as they see little benefit in reducing their tenants’ energy bills (this problem is called ‘split-incentives’). Even council properties suffer this – the council’s so called “Decent Homes” refurbishment isn’t decent for the environment alas. The solution would be to force landlords to make changes, especially when they sell their properties or carry out a refurbishment. Energy mortgages (a Lib Dem policy for years) are great for landlords and homeowners alike as they can provide low cost funds to make changes, then you pay the mortgage back through the energy you save or the rental premium you can charge.

But as it happens, I do own my own house, in fact I bought it partly as a project to refurbish in a low carbon style and you will be able to visit my house as part of the Victorian Terrace Energy Reduction Initiative . The first thing I did was replace the light bulbs with low energy versions – compact fluorescents and LEDs. The LEDs I have only use 1.8W and the fluorescents use 7-11W. Each bulb they replaced used 50W! I put Thermostatic Valves on to my radiators. I have also fitted a ReGen Ventilator on to my roof, in place of a chimney pot. This is a world-first prototype which will provides fresh air whilst stopping heat from escaping at the same time. You can see the inventor, Thor, talk about his product in this video , alongside the fabulous Alexis Rowell who is a Lib Dem councillor who won an environment award for his fantastic work. You can read Alexis’ blog here .

The next thing I want to do is to insulate my property fully. I have asked IRT Surveys to take a thermal photo of my house so that I can see where I’m losing all the heat. I may also get an air-tightness test to see where the leaks are. I’ve already put in loft insulation and will be insulating the walls next, and replacing the windows. Most of the building work will start to happen after the General Election, when the weather is warmer and when I am not out campaigning all the time.

Once this is done, I will look into installing solar thermal on my roof, probably using the excellent Willis product which saves a lot of the money of putting solar into existing buildings.  

Finally, whilst most of this section has been about energy saving, there are other aspects to the environment too! I am fortunate enough to have a garden and I intend to plant this in a way that benefits local species, e.g. by planting wildflowers and native plants. I also kept a small woodpile over the winter to provide a place for insects to live.

I’m always looking for new ways to save energy and help the environment at home, so if you have any other suggestions, please let me know!