News - Domestic energy-saving strategies
May 22 2007
Keith Baker Dwellings account for 27.5% of the UK's annual energy consumption, revealed Keith Baker in a talk at the 'Engaging Cogs' event 'Hungry for Energy - Will we ever have enough?' in Aberdeen on May 22.
Keith is an active member of Leicester Green Party and a co-editor of the new Community Energy website.
If the UK is to meet even the most conservative emissions reduction targets, he added, then a strategy is needed that engages academia, industry, NGOs and politicians, but most of all the public.
Increases in energy efficiency, he said, are in danger of being minimised or cancelled out by the rise in demand. The thermal inefficiency of the average UK dwelling means that up to 40% of energy efficiency improvements may be realised in improving comfort rather than reducing consumption.
Venezuela has already banned conventional tungsten bulbs, and will soon be followed by Australia and California. In the EU the Energy-using Products directive (EuP) has received industry backing and will provide a massive boost to appliance energy efficiency and eco-design.
Yet reducing consumption also requires a concerted effort to influence behaviour and technology choice through effective public communication. The Blue Peter Green Book has been credited as driving the recycling of domestic waste by 'pester power' and, similarly, energy inefficiency will need to become a societal stigma in order to make a real impact on emissions.
