Morning:
10°c
Street cuts emissions by 40% in five months
Mark Prigg, Science Correspondent23 Jul 2008
A London street has cut its carbon emissions by 40 per cent in only five months for a national eco contest.
The British Gas Green Streets challenge requires eight households in eight roads across Britain to reduce their combined carbon dioxide output.
The street which reduces its energy usage and emissions the most over a year will win £50,000 to spend on making a community building more energy efficient. Greenend Road, Chiswick, is representing London.
Homeowners were given a green audit, including thermal imaging pictures of their properties to identify poorly insulated areas. They have been working with British Gas experts to cut energy usage.
Nationally, some families have made savings of 50 per cent, while the average for the contest is 30 per cent.
Mel Broughton, who lives in Greenend Road with husband Hugh and sons Stan, nine, Ben, seven, and four-year-old Alf, said: "We all wanted to get involved as a family.
"We're really keen to save as much energy as possible to help the environment and keep our energy bills down.
"We have found that making a big difference is relatively straightforward and easy to do. It is about making small changes, such as being careful to switch off lights and reuse plastic bags, rather than major lifestyle changes. I think we've all been quite surprised at how easy it has been and the saving we've made."
She said her children had risen to the challenge, adding: "They really love it and actually delight in telling people who come to visit to close doors and switch off lights."
The Institute of Public Policy Research, which is overseeing the contest, estimates that if these savings were replicated across Britain, households could cut total bills of £23 billion a year by £4.6 billion. Employing 10,000 neighbourhood energy advisers nationally would cost only £500 million.
Domestic energy usage accounts for 28 per cent of the UK's total CO2 emissions and £1 in every £3 we spend heating our homes is wasted due to poor insulation.
Phil Bentley, managing director of British Gas, said: "Reducing energy consumption is the single most important thing households can do to reduce bills and cut emissions.
"Green Streets households have saved up to 30 per cent on their energy use in just five months. The challenge for everyone is to see if they can do the same."
