As winter approaches so does the prospect of higher energy bills. The evenings draw in and the lights go on, while a chill in the air means homes must be heated.
There are ways of softening the blow for the environment though, with a welcome knock-on effect for your wallet too.
This week’s Camden Green Open Homes Weekend is a timely event, then.
Six energy efficient properties in the borough will open their doors to visitors to demonstrate how to keep their homes warm with projects ranging from comprehensive renovations to smaller, inexpensive tweaks.
Sarah Nicholl, one of the event’s co-organisers is showing how small, temporary or unobtrusive additions can be made to a rented flat.
“We’ve done some lower cost measures such as secondary magnetic glazing, floorboard fillers and draught proofing things like letter boxes.
“We have a very amenable landlady so when we suggest things to her she’s happy for us to do them.”
Nicholl will also be running demonstrations during the event on how to install secondary magnetic glazing units, which she says are an economical, effective and unobtrusive alternative to traditional double glazing that can be used with all types of windows and even in listed buildings.
Other homes participating in the event include an architect’s home extension on his Victorian terraced property.
The oak framed, rubber roofed structure with triple glazing and under floor heating used no concrete in its construction and did not even require planning permission.
And since the event is being held over Halloween weekend, the bat box incorporated into the fabric of the Solar Home in Kentish Town seems particularly fitting.
The Victorian house also boasts reclaimed wooden flooring and LED and low energy lighting.
The event takes place at locations around Camden on the 1st and 2nd November.
Read more:
Highgate event to bring homes into the 21st century
How to get double-glazing in Camden and Haringey’s listed homes
Co-Housing: Combating loneliness in Muswell Hill eco retirement development
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