Reducing domestic energy usage through education

It was heartening to learn about the government’s plans last week to launch a public information campaign to help the public understand how better to use their homes to help reduce energy bills, rather than just throwing money at the problem. We can do far more far more quickly through better understanding how our buildings work, than the longer term and more carbon intensive process of upgrading building fabric.

Rather than heating our homes uniformly to 21 degrees, we can be more intelligent in our approach, lowering energy bills and limiting our environmental impact. Turning radiators off in unused rooms, shutting doors, using heavy curtains as additional insulation against glazing, installing cost-effective draft excluders, and the positioning of soft furnishings all contribute to both retaining heat and the perception of warmth.

At MOPA we think hard not only with the buildings themselves, but about the way occupants use them in the knowledge that sometimes the best architecture involves no building at all.

An article this week in Building Design by Susan Roaf presents case for optimising cool and cosy corners in domestic projects. These spaces optimise the site to maximise and minimise thermal gains, using the building fabric, furnishing and architecture to maximise the heat and cold respectively. Even without a redesign, working out which are the warm and cool spaces within an existing house, and using those spaces to their maximise advantage, could have a profound impact on the buildings thermal functionality. It is exciting to read this kind of thinking in the mainstream architectural press.

Susan Roaf’s full article can be found here:

https://www.bdonline.co.uk/opinion/buy-your-gran-a-cosy/cool-corner-for-christmas/5120354.article