Central heating now, energy efficient homes later

A few weeks ago I was asked to take part in a radio programme about whether it was time to turn the central heating on. It was a relatively humorous affair with me relating how it was a “hot” issue in our household because I had been encouraging my other half to pile on the pullovers and run up and down the stairs once an hour!

Well I can now announce that on Sunday 17th October at 11am I admitted defeat and turned on three radiators to take the chill off autumn. Later that day a friend and neighbour, who’s just had his house refurbished and insulated, told me they hadn’t turned the heating on yet – they haven’t needed to.

So here’s our problem. We rent our lovely but draughty flat and although we have a very good relationship with our landlords they have absolutely no interest in spending the money to insulate it properly. In the end we agreed to share the cost for one particularly leaky set of French windows in our kitchen and now, for the second winter running, I will literally put sticking plaster (masking tape) around the other windows and then cover them with cling film to keep our energy consumption down and our flat warm.

I’ve spent the last 18 months talking to the government about this problem. Two-thirds of Camden’s homes are pre-war solid wall properties like ours. Installing solid wall insulation and good quality replica Victorian or Georgian double glazing will be expensive. Camden Council has committed to insulating every cavity wall and roof in the borough for free, but we don’t have the money to do the solid walls and double glazing.

For once the government has listened and has just announced a pilot scheme allowing local authorities to make interest-free loans to residents for solid wall insulation and double gazing. Residents would then pay the money back through energy bill savings. That would mean landlords like ours could sign up for insulation without having to pay because we, the tenants, would pay gradually over time. Equally homeowners who don’t have spare savings could borrow the money and pay it back when their energy bills go down or when they sell the property. Now that’s what I call a win-win-win – a win for residents, a win for property owners and a win in the battle against climate change.