Do you recall the thread here some years ago which detailed a new build house? The owners spent just 10% extra than on a standard house build and only used materials found in a standard builders' yard.
They reduced their household energy bills to something that most people would be jealous of and maybe think impossible without depriving themselves of comfort (I'd have to look for the thread to find out the actual figures).
I think it was around the time the government committed to only building 'zero-carbon homes' from 2016 onwards and then, as is the wont of fúcking politicians, reneged on their commitment.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
emordnilap wrote:Do you recall the thread here some years ago which detailed a new build house? The owners spent just 10% extra than on a standard house build and only used materials found in a standard builders' yard.
They reduced their household energy bills to something that most people would be jealous of and maybe think impossible without depriving themselves of comfort (I'd have to look for the thread to find out the actual figures).
I think it was around the time the government committed to only building 'zero-carbon homes' from 2016 onwards and then, as is the wont of fúcking politicians, reneged on their commitment.
It's been possible for at least ten years to build a virtually zero carbon house using only the materials found in a standard builders merchants. It is now much easier because there are new techniques which make it easier to make a house airtight and build with wide insulated cavities. There are also fixings so that you can build a solid wall and fix insulation to the outside before rendering it. Only the national house builders, their designers and the politicians that they pay are unaware of this fact so we have a cancellation of the policy for zero carbon homes for this year.