Transition Town Kingston

If you’re thinking about designing an extension or a building or retrofitting for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, here’s some useful advice. Scroll down for the full range, including, towards the end, on finding reliable installers, maintenance services, and more energy advice...:

• Perfect Circle: Building a circular economy (YouTube video)
• Climate Emergency Design Guide by LETI, a network of over 1000 built environment professionals working together to put the UK on the path to a zero carbon future.
• AECOM’s carbon and business case for choosing refurbishment over new build
• AECOM’s guide to understanding net zero and what AECOM is doing to respond to the climate emergency
• Net Zero Carbon Buildings: A Framework Definition - a report intended as a first step towards delivering buildings that are in line with the aims of the Paris Agreement – namely net zero carbon across the whole life of a building.
• Green Technology: Designing for Low Carbon (AECOM)

• RIBA Sustainable Outcomes Guide - guidance on targeting, designing and evaluating sustainable outcomes for buildings of all scales.

• Damon Hart-Davis's Earth Notes: On Building a New Efficient Home in (the South of) England: where to start, what to remember, and useful resources. Save your wallet, toes, and the planet!

• You can read about one TTK Energy Group member's energy efficiency journey and what they learnt along the way here

Also:

• Thinking of extending your home? Patrick Manwell of TTK’s Energy Group says that planning a major extension offers the ideal opportunity to decarbonise your entire house and reduce your energy bills. Find out why here.
• Thinking about installing an air source heat pump? 
  - Damon of TTK’s Energy Group has put together a lot of useful information here, including questions to ask a supplier and a case-study on a Kingston house
  - The Guardian on how the costs and savings stack up
  - Possible's Guide to Heat Pumps 
  - At home with a heat pump - 4 householders with recently installed air source heat pumps discuss the ups and downs of ownership in The Guardian
  - New heat pump and hydrogen research from Imperial College 
  - What type of heat pump would work in my home? The pros and cons from Houzz home décor website in a feature about heat pumps.
• Interested in Passivhaus standards of energy-efficiency and comfort? This Guardian article, with links to further info, is a useful place to start.

 

+ Finding reliable installers, maintenance services, energy advice...
All of these have been recommended to us at one time or another, but “buyer beware”:

• Ecofurb - https://www.ecofurb.com/ - a consultancy: “A new home renovation service...We help homeowners plan energy efficiency improvements and give impartial advice. We can also connect you with vetted heat pump and solar & battery installers.” 
• Centre for Sustainable Energy - https://www.cse.org.uk/ - “One of CSE’s key roles is to help local households understand their energy use, improve the energy performance of their homes, and develop more sustainable behaviours.” CSE reports and energy advice available to download at https://www.cse.org.uk/resources.
• Enhabit, now part of https://www.efficientbuildingsolutions.co.uk/ Efficient Building Solutions (EBS), is a purpose-led business committed to providing complementary services [from simple consultancy to designing and building a Passivhaus] and products with the combined purpose of tackling the climate and ecological crises by radically improving the UK’s buildings through its thinking, leadership and actions.   
• Architects Climate Action Network - https://www.architectscan.org/ - “ACAN is a network of individuals within architecture and related built environment professions taking action to address the twin crises of climate and ecological breakdown.” 
• Trustpilot - https://uk.trustpilot.com/ - “hosts reviews to help consumers shop with confidence, and deliver rich insights to help businesses improve the experiences they offer. The more consumers use our platform and share their own opinions, the richer the insights we offer businesses, and the more opportunities they have to earn the trust of consumers from all around the world.”
• Nesta - https://www.nesta.org.uk/sustainable-future/ - “We design, test and scale new solutions to society’s biggest problems, changing millions of lives for the better.” 
• Heat pump manufacturers such as Daikin - https://www.daikin.co.uk/en_gb/residential.html - and Mitsubishi - https://les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/ - will have their own lists of trained installers and maintenance firms.,
• One Home - www.onehome.org.uk - “Climate Change is here now. Choices we make every day have an impact. One Home is full of ideas to help you make informed decisions that will benefit you and have a positive impact on the world around us... Visit the One Home website and watch their video on energy-saving tips.
• Damon Hart-Davis's Earth Notes: On Building a New Efficient Home in (the South of) England: where to start, what to remember, and useful resources.
• The following websites also have a range of helpful advice for those looking to cut their energy use and costs.  

https://moneysavingboilerchallenge.com 
https://energyadvice.london 
https://energysavingtrust.org.uk 
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk 
https://www.nea.org.uk 
https://www.smartenergygb.org 
https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency  
https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/energy-saving-advice/