Making our homes greener will not only help to reduce our carbon footprint, but will also lower our energy bills
(Image credit: Future)
To coincide with Earth Day 2021, Homebuilding & Renovating and the wider Future Homes Network, including Real Homes and Ideal Home have joined forces to launch Green Homes Month, a campaign to raise awareness of ways we can all make our homes more energy efficient.
Over the next month, we will be sharing the best advice, ideas and products to help you reduce your carbon footprint. Making your home greener is not only better for the environment, but it can also help significantly reduce energy bills. It's a win-win.
Why Green Homes are the Future
The greening up of our homes is inevitable, especially if the UK is to meet its net zero emissions target by 2050.
There are exciting new developments in the world of hydrogen heating, and the government has pledged that 600,000 heat pumps will be installed in our homes per year by 2028.
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(Image credit: Future)
Green Homes Month will be running from 22 April - 21 May. You can follow our activity on Twitter and Facebook
Around 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from heating our homes, and it is expected that the majority of existing UK homes will need to be retrofitted in some way.
There are simple, inexpensive ways you can make your home greener, such as swapping to LED lightbulbs or using smart plugs, but if you are looking for something more substantial, making sure your home has efficient insulation is a good starting point. You could even install solar panels.
For those planning to self build, adopting a fabric-first approach is a great way to integrate multiple green measures into your building envelope from the design stage. You might choose to build with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), opt for triple glazed windows and install an MVHR system, for example.
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There are also several initiatives in place to provide homeowners with financial assistance in making these changes, such as the Renewable Heat Incentive and the forthcoming Clean Heat Grant.
Jack has worked in journalism for over a decade and was the former News Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating between 2019 until 2023. In his time as News Editor he broke the most relevant and beneficial stories for self builders, extenders and renovators, including the latest news on the construction materials shortage, planning permission and green initiatives. In 2021 he appeared on BBC's The World at One to discuss the government's planning reforms.
He enjoys testing new tools and gadgets, and having bought his first home in 2013, he has renovated every room and recently finished a garden renovation.
