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energy-conservation, green-advice, green-homeMy new year's resolution is to make my terraced house in North London more energy efficient - from insulation to solar panels. Anyone got any suggestions of good books or advice centres that'll give me a good idea of what to do first, and what is going to make the most difference?
I know there's a "green concierge" service which the Mayor of London has just started but it seems a bit pricey at £200 per year.
What an excellent resolution. Living in a terrace house, you, of course, have a built-in advantage in that you only have two outside walls so heat loss is much less than the absurd boxes you see on modern estates where each house is separate from its neighbour -- sometimes just 1 metre apart -- so that it can be called 'detached'! In fact, detached houses seem almost deliberately designed to scatter as much space heating energy to the four winds as they could be.
If I were you, I would start your resolution by thinking big on insulation. It's not glamorous and sexy like wind turbines but it is without doubt the best way to initiate any programme of converting your house to as near zero-carbon as you can. I have done this with a barn conversion which I rebuilt. I stuffed in as much Ecotherm and sheeps wool as I could and have been reaping the benefits ever since. There's no better site than The Yellow House for detailed, practical and comprehensible info on insulation. In fact, it's a wonderful source of all the sorts of things you might want to know since they've done what you want to do.
You will probably be aware of the Energy Saving Trust's pages on renewables. For you in London, wind power is out but solar hot water and photovoltaics (in that order if money is short!) would seem the next steps to take after insulating and sealing everything that doesn't move. For me, it's windpower -- but I live in windy northwest Wales where the sun don't shine so much as London.
I'm sure you're aware of the Centre for Alternative Technology which has a free information service, runs many courses and has an excellent online shop.
The green concierge service you mention is a splendid idea but, in a country allegedly serious about cutting energy use, this sort of thing ought to be free.