www.everythingsgonegreen.co.uk

We were watching the TV the other night, struggling for something interesting and informative to watch, when we just chanced upon back-to-back episodes of Channel 4′s Grand Designs.

Now I forget the first episode that we saw the tail end of but the follow-up was the most excellent episode with the woodsman, Ben Law. Ben was working and living in the woods in Sussex for 10 years where he earned a living from coppicing, making wooden furniture and charcoal. His dream was to hand-build a cruck-framed house in the middle of the woods.

With planning laws being tough on building in woodland, and rightfully so, Ben persuaded the planners of his needs to move out of a rusty caravan and into a more permanent structure. With a budget of £20-25,0000 Ben’s house was designed to be natural, blend into the surrounding woods and to be self-sufficient.

With no services being piped into the site, Ben is totally reliant on the sun and the wind to put power into an array of 2v, 920ah ex-submarine batteries and he collects enough water from rainfall and a spring to provide

“…enough for probably half a village..”

Ben also grows a lot of his own fruit and vegetables to, but how much we don’t know.

That’s enough of our praise for the moment, if you want to see it for yourself go to 4oD and watch the original 2003 Grand Designs series 3 episode 5.

What was particularly nice about the show we watched was that it was actually an edition of Grand Designs Revisited. I’d thought for 8 years that it would be great to visit Prickly Nut Woods in West Sussex some time, and Ben now provides occasional tours of his lovely woodland house. 2011′s dates are all fully-booked but there are slots upon for a visit next year.

Ben has also branched out and written a number of books and is involved in a number of schemes to teach skills and pass on his expert knowledge. For more information have a look at Ben’s personal website.

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We’ve had an interesting email from the Make Wood Work campaign.

In essence, the UK Government’s Renewables Obligation (RO) policy encourages the use of bio-mass burners for electricity generation with financial subsidies. Whilst, from an environmentally-friendly point of view, biomass burning creates energy from waste materials, the forest products industry is concerned that using wood for bio-mass burners will damage their industry.

They have a good point. If the waste material from the wood industry is used for biomass burning then it is being diverted away from the recycled wood industry where collected waste wood is used to created further products. If biomass burning is encouraged then the wood will be burnt and the capacity for the energy industry to a) be heavily subsidised and b) burn vast amounts of timber is not only a worry for the forest products and wood panel industries, but also for the environment, for local economies and for the greater social good too.

By using wood and waste wood in products, there is greater environmental good with the carbon being “locked up” in the products and reused and recycled, stimulating initiatives to find further ways to innovatively use waste wood. The biomass energy industry would simply burn the timber and produce greater carbon emissions than the waste wood recycling and reprocessing industries.

Basically, the government’s well-intended renewables obligation policy is distorting an “already fragile wood supply and demand balance in the UK”. You only have to look at Channel 4 News’ report Timber prices up as power plants boost biomass use to see what the subsidised energy industry is having knock-on effects elsewhere by voraciously burning timber.

So, quite simply put:

RO means wood and waste wood go stright to burners to generate “renewable” energy. Wood, that takes 30/40 years to grow, is burnt. Waste wood is burnt. Wood and waste wood are simply destroyed.

A rethink of RO means wood goes to the wood products industry and actually makes useful products. More people are gainfully employed in business and industry and there is innovation in creating from wood and waste wood.

We’re not against biomass energy as it does have the potential for energy production from sources that would not otherwise be of any use, but to use wood and waste wood is a short-sighted and destructive path.

For more information take a look at the Make Wood Work campaign website, their video is particularly interesting.

We’ve been thinking about experimenting with a green roof here at Everythings Gone Green Towers for quite some time now. Our house roof is far too steeply pitched but our garage, in the back garden, is an ideal candidate for some green roof experimentation.

Green roofs, which can be partially or completely covered in vegetation, are an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint. They can be installed on existing properties and new builds and provide so many positives.

The Sedum green roof is much like turf, and can be rolled out quickly and easily. Sedum is a large genus of around 400 species of succulents, so they are virtually maintenance-free because they soak up a lot of moisture.

Beyond sedum green roofs, your imagination and the structure of the building, are the only limits with some green roofs having ponds and trees!

New research from energy and environmental consultancy, Atmos Consulting, says that green roofs are definitely beneficial. Whilst we’re looking at a domestic green roof here in Farnborough, Atmos Consulting have been looking at the viability and impact of green roofs on businesses. They say that green roofs help businesses to achieve their sustainability targets and that the “payback times” are getting shorter.

The benefits of green roofs, according to research, are numerous. Atmos say that green roofs are:

• Heat Insulators  Green roofs insulate buildings and thereby cut energy costs. As an example, a recent study has shown that green roofs save 2 litres of fuel oil per square metre.
• Cool Insulators  By insulating a building in the summertime it has been seen that heat absorption of a building can be reduced by as much as 84% – By keeping the temperature down the need for cooling is reduced, thereby cutting the use of air conditioning and encouraging further cost savings.
• Durable: Green roofs are expected to last between 2.5 and 3.5 times longer than roofs made from “standard materials”. Again, the cost of repair and replacement of a regular roof is much reduced over the same lifetime.
• Pollution Reducers: A square metre of grass can remove 0.2kg of particulates per annum. They also trap chmicals and pollutants that would otherwise go straight to drainage systems. (If water companies had to treat waste water less would water bills go down?)
• Run-off Reducers: A green roof will retain as much as 90-100% of of the very critical first hour of heavy/storm rainfall and around 50-60% of run-off over the period of a year. Again, drainage costs are reduced and this aids the management of flood prevention.
•  Wildlife Habitats: Insects, birds and other wildlife love green roofs and so they are a boon to increasing local ecology and biodiversity.
• Sustainable: Government-set sustainability targets can be partially met by installing a green roof. Of course, there are many other factors but green roofs play a contributory role in meeting BREEAM assesments for instance.
• PR Generators: Installing a green roof can generate lots of positive publicity. Local and national press, trade magazines, environmental, energy and green publications and organisations will be happy to promote further the news of green roofs in domestic and commercial applications.

Vicky Ward, Ecological Consultant at Atmos, is positive about the green roof revolution, saying;

“Green roofs have long been popular with companies that want to better the environment, and go a long way to achieving sustainability targets.

“Thanks to developing technology the payback periods are becoming much shorter, making green roofs a sound financial investment. We urge anyone developing new properties or renovating existing ones to consider them.”

If you’re thinking of doing your own green roof project we highly recommend you take a look at the book Small Green Roofs: Low-Tech Options for Homeowners, co-written by Dusty Gedge, among others, who you can follow on twitter, handle @greenroofsuk.

Do you remember when we had that water meter fitted in May last year?

The main reason was a financial one – We’ve got a short-flush toilet, a shower and we keep our water usage low and yet last year’s bill, from South East Water, for April 1^st 2010 – March 31^st 2011, was still a whopping £320. Considering the house is single occupancy for 44 weeks of the year that’s a lot of money to splash out on H₂O. I figured that by fitting a water meter the water bill would go down.

March 15th 2011 – The water bill comes through the door and the cost for the forthcoming year is – £350! So I get a meter fitted and my bill goes UP nearly 10%. I’ve had a water meter for nearly a year and, looking at the details of the bill, they’re still charging me based upon the Rateable Value of my house. It’s only a 3-bed semi but I’m being charged the same amount as my next-door neighbour and there are 4 people living at their property (4x as many showers, toilet flushes, washing machine loads etc).

I called South East Water to tell them they were taking the piss (and the rain water, the bath water, the dish water etc.) and they immediately spotted that they were still charging me on “the RV”. I asked why this was so and they stuttered a bit to explain but blamed it on a systems failure between the installation engineer and the backend system at the water company.

South East Water have said that they will send me a revised bill, so watch out for an update – I’ve gone green and I’m trying to save money so let’s hope this works out to our advantage rather than for the shareholders of the utility company.

SO – If you’ve just got your water bill and you’ve had a water meter installed make sure you’re not being charged at the Rateable Value and inform your water company immediately. We’re trying to go green, use less water and drive our costs down, so good luck people!

Whilst listening to a Radio 4 podcast on the lack of lending by banks to SMEs, I came across the story of a firm called 2K Manufacturing. The broadcast was about the firm’s difficulty in securing a loan from a major UK bank in order to expand the production of their Ecosheet product; It was this Ecosheet that really caught my attention.

2K Manufacturing’s Ecosheet is an environmentally-friendly alternative to plywood. By using low-grade post-consumer waste plastic products 2K are not only keeping this waste from the incinerator or land-fill but also reducing the need for imported plywood.

Mainly used in building & construction, hoarding etc Ecosheet has many other advantages over plywood:

• Generally lighter than plywood
• As strong as plywood
• Similar cost to plywood
• Ecosheet is impervious to rain & damp so it can be stored outdoors, weathers really well and can be jet-washed!
• It is made in standard sizes
• Both sides of Ecosheet are “A” faces (whereas plywood has just one)
• Ecosheet can be recycled at the end of its own useful life
• Ergo it is a totally sustainable solution

Just take a look at Ecosheet around the refurbishment of Marks & Spencer in Stall Street, Bath; The hoardings have been vinyl-wrapped with graphics but the installation is totally weatherproof and sustainable.

So builders, construction firms, civil engineers etc… It’s well worth checking out the green alternative to plywood. I hope the big DIY and builders merchants start stocking this product too – it keeps low-grade plastic waste out of land-fill and the incinerator, it stops trees from being cut to supply demand for plywood and it is good for the environment and 2K Manufacturing, a UK small business.

Today a contractor turned up on behalf of South East Water and installed a water meter at my request. It was a pretty quick and easy job and the water meter was actually installed at the point in the public highway (the footpath at the end of my drive actually) where the water pipes into my property rather than in the house as I had suspected (I was concerned it would be yet another  a big ugly box just like the gas and electric meters that take up space inside an understairs cupboard in the hallway)

I have to admit, the main reason for getting a water meter installed was a financial one. Currently I occupy a 3-bedroomed semi-detached house on my own whilst my better half and daughter spend an extended period of time abroad. The local council reduce my council tax rates for single occupancy but the water company do not. The annual bill for water is approximately £320 and that is based on the rateable value of the property.

Somewhere down the line you can only assume that the water companies have estimated the average use and cost of water supply, drainage and sewerage for a typical 3-bed semi with X amount of people living there. In my case that doesn’t apply so it makes pefect sense to be metered – So, presumably, the cost of my water bills should  come down.

Now here’s the green bit…

Because this is a green-thinking household there is a bath in the house but showers are more than 99% of the time. A shower uses a third of the volume of water that a bath does (plus it’s quicker to take a shower than run a bath, as we all know) OK, there is a Turner Monsoon pump fitted to boost the water pressure of the shower (and it uses electricity) but that’s because the water pressure is really pathetic in the bathroom and it’s virtually unusable without a boost. Continuing to have showers rather than baths will keep the water consumption down. Winner.

Then there’s the fact that  a low-flush toilet was installed in the bathroom, the only WC in the house. Not only does it use less water to flush than the previous Armitage Shanks cistern from 1964 but it has a dual-flush that uses less water (depending on whether you flush number 1s or number 2s ). Winner #2.

Also, by not driving a car, partly out of green choice, partly for health & fitness and partly for financial reasons, the cars don’t get washed. Winner #3.

And then there’s the water butt in the garden. Because the local council had a great deal on a compost bin we saved enough money to have a water butt purchased & delivered for the same cost as had we just had the composting bin on its own. Winner #4.

So it looks like this could be a win-win situation – Not only does this household save water but it saves money too. If you’re green and you haven’t got a water meter installed then it might be time to consider doing so. I’ll keep you posted as to how long it is before the water company start reducing our water bills – you know what these big companies are like when it comes to letting go of your cash…

Footnote: I just had a look at the volumetric water meter manufacturer’s website. Being a marketing guy myself I wasn’t totally enamoured at the language used for the V210 meter:

V200 and V210 volumetric meters are designed to maximise revenue collection.

Now I know the website is not consumer-focused but when they stumble across the term “maximise revenue collection” it doesn’t sound fair does it? Maybe I should suggest to the manufacturer that they use the term “optimise revenue collection” – that would be far more agreeable, don’t you think?

Last night I went to a climate change consultation with my local Rushmoor Borough Council.

40 local residents were invited down to Aldershot on a cold February night to discuss the borough’s policy and, arranged into small groups, we brainstormed Rushmoor BC’s plans for the environment and the future.

Of course, the number one topic raised was the issue of climate change itself. Currently, if you spend a lot of time in the media, the subject of climate change seems to be getting a real kicking. The Climategate affair, involving the leak of data from the University of East Anglia on the eve of the Copenhagen summit, followed by the controversy over the predictions of retreating Himalayan ice and now Sir David King’s attack on the IPCC mean that a lot of scepticism is creeping in and, last night, a few dissenting voices were heard in the room.

The important consensus though was that climate change is happening. It’s not just global warming or global cooling, but variations in “local” climate all over the world and, whether it’s man-made or natural, it’s best to prepare for it.

So, that first hurdle over, Rushmoor BC presented their plans for the next 20 years. The big issue locally is the Aldershot Urban Extension, meaning that our neighbouring town of Aldershot is to be the subject of a 4,500 home expansion. Whilst brownfield sites are preferable for new builds, it seems inevitable that so many more homes will be needed and the council will have to develop a new “town” of so many houses.

This will surely impact upon on our small Borough which is already a busy commuter area (with great links to London and the south coast via train and motorway). The plans are to lessen the impact of any new development, and Rushmoor BC made bold statements to meet and exceed environmental building standards by an additional 15%.

That prompted questions of “are the current environmental standards stringent enough?” meaning that beating them by 15% is a fairly easy task plus that age old question of “the council says it will meet & beat standards but will it actually do it?”

Many ideas were bandied around in our group with a lot of focus on restoring localisation, creating closer community, water run-off into the River Blackwater etc. Plus there was great interest in the proposed new power plant, powered, presumably, by local waste and providing heat & energy. The notion of creating an “eco town” was popular with the notion that Rushmoor could be as well-regarded as the city of Brighton which is always thought of as one of Britain’s greenest urban places.

The usual topics of individual wind & solar power arose with ground-heat pumps and green roofs being thrown in for good measure.

Overall, a wealth of ideas were explored and there seems to be a consensus that the majority of people were in favour of bold steps in order to make the borough a greener place in terms of planning over the next 20 years or so.

The Natural Environment

The second part of the night revolved around Rushmoor’s natural environment. Surrounded by military land, we are blessed with a fairly natural environment that is protected by its ownership under the MOD.

The consensus was that we should not only protect every single piece of green environment that we have around here but that we should also restore and improve upon it. Natural and man-made attrition of the trees in the borough is something close to my heart as I’ve seen numerous trees come down locally over the years, never to be replaced. Do we get an organisation like the Woodland Trust involved to help us re-green Rushmoor?

Cycle paths were mentioned again as local citizens expressed a desire to expand cycle routes and to encourage more use of cycles in the borough. One resident even complained that where he locked up his cycle in the North Camp part of town they had removed the cycle racks and never replaced them!

Conclusion

There was a very healthy discourse over the evening and a number of people felt as though this was just the first of many discussions regarding the environment in Rushmoor. The many notes that were made were taken away to be digested by the council and they will have much food for thought.

Some great ideas came out of the meeting and, for starters, I would like to see the replacement and replanting of more trees, an extension of cycle tracks and a push to get more people cycling, loft insulation for all, better buses and routes and a green roof initiative.

Every piece of green and MOD land must be fought for and preserved and the inevitable expansion of Aldershot MUST be sustainable, green and a benefit to current residents not a detriment.

Finally, I’d like to see flights to Farnborough Airport capped as they are. I’ve seen no major benefit to the local economy from the planes flying in and, working near the airfield, the avgas fumes are unpleasant and unhealthy, not to mention the M3 motorway and the ridiculous “sound barrier” erected for residents who brought houses right next to the M3 but complained it was too noisy! (irony?) Thanks to them the sound bounces off the wooden fences and pollutes an even greater area.

Let’s hope Rushmoor Borough can only get safer, greener and cleaner.

Well it’s certainly been a week for DIY retailer B&Q. On Friday 13th February they will be selling a million loft insulation rolls at £1 apiece (whilst socks last) and on Wednesday they opened their greenest ever store at New Malden in Surrey.

The new £9 million southwest London store, B&Q’s greenest store ever, is part of their commitment to be a zero carbon emission company by 2012 and boasts a 20Kw wind turbine, FSC timber throughout the build, natural heating, solar panels, rainwater collection and a green roof. Wow! That’s a lot!

Now the building industry has often been branded as one of the least environmentally friendly but B&Q are making a huge commitment to changing that and their range of eco brands and materials is expanding, giving people greater access to greener materials with which to build & renovate their homes. Their “One Planet” range now covers 2000 eco items.

B&Q is just one of 12 companies across the UK to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard which

certifies that an organisation has genuinely reduced its carbon footprint and is committed to making further reductions year on year

And you can see the level of commitment in the long list of improvements to their 50% greener store, and I quote;

• a 20KW wind turbine situated on a 35m tower on the top of the store will help generate energy for the store – it’s the largest integrated turbine yet installed on a building in the UK
• FSC certified timber has been used throughout
• Ground source heat pumps heat and cool the store with geothermal energy which takes energy from the earth using 108 bore holes at 100 metres deep
• Rainwater harvesting – rainwater is collected from the store’s roof and used to water plants in the roof top garden centre and for flushing the toilets
• A photovoltaic system; which converts light into electricity will provide shade for the coffee shop and convert solar radiation into electricity to run appliances and lighting
• Solar thermal water heating panels will generate hot water for the WCs and the coffee shop
• Insulated to the highest levels reducing loss of heat and CO2 through walls and roof
• A green roof planted with sedum; an herbaceous plant, will absorb CO2 and provide added value to biodiversity as well as reducing rainwater run-off
• North-light roof provides higher natural lighting levels and reduces reliance on artificial lighting.  All lighting throughout the store will use energy efficient light bulbs
• Automatic lighting dimming control system will reduce energy consumption
• Natural ventilation from the roof vents help to make the store more comfortable in summer

That’s pretty impressive.

If you want to beat the credit crunch and insulate your home for less then you might like to know that DIY giant B&Q is selling a million rolls of loft insulation for just £1 a roll. The offer, available from Friday 13th February at B&Q stores throughout the country, means that with the average loft requiring 22 rolls of loft insulation to be fully insulated, it is estimated that those who take up the offer could reduce their heating bills by as much as £205 a year.

Euan Sutherland, the CEO of B&Q and Kingfisher UK Division, said of the offer:

“We’ve just experienced the worst cold snap for many years and with money tight people are looking for ways to keep warm and save money. As far as I’m aware this is the first time ever a roll of loft insulation has been sold for £1. If you want one though, you’ll have to be quick because there’s only a million rolls available at this price and once they’re gone they’re gone.”

Phil Bentley, Managing Director of British Gas added:

“We are very proud to support B&Q’s cheapest ever offer making loft insulation more affordable and helping householders make big savings on their energy bills. With £1 in every £4 spent on heating an un-insulated home being wasted, this is a great opportunity to save money and help reduce your impact on the environment.”

The £1 roll forms part of a three-roll triple pack “DIY loft insulation” and is a fraction of the usual retail cost thanks to British Gas and the CERT funding scheme. CERT funding means this offer is only available to retail customers. It is not available to trade customers, professional installers or for those involved in the construction of new builds.

The offer is the latest measure from B&Q designed to help people live a more sustainable life and is part of the retailer’s ongoing commitment to the Together Campaign. Last year the home improvement retailer launched a “One Planet Home” range, specifically designed to help people reduce the environmental impact of their home and help them save money. To further help homeowners to lay insulation, B&Q has also produced a How To Insulate your home DVD (£1.98) – a visual step-by-step guide to help the successful completion of the project.

Together Campaign Director David Hall concludes:

“With this groundbreaking offer there’s never been a better time to lag your loft and start saving money. Thanks to B&Q and British Gas over 45,000 homes across the UK could feel the warmth and financial benefit from this offer on top of reducing their carbon footprint. At Together we estimate this promotion will save 12,000 tonnes of C02 saved every year- the equivalent of taking 4,800 cars off the road.”