Winter is long, dark and cold and having a warm home is a blessing. However, homes in the UK mostly use gas boilers that release lots of polluting gases (around 11% of a household’s emissions). This, together with the rising cost of energy, makes keeping the warmth in really important to both planet and pocket.
Get the family together to investigate how to stop some of this precious heat from escaping!
Sustainable Amersham has a thermal imaging camera, a gadget that takes special pictures showing where heat is. Would you like us to come to scan your home and explore together where heat may be escaping? This is a free session you can register for here.
To explore this with the little ones, draw a picture of your house with pencil. Explore the areas where the heating might escape (doors, windows, walls, the roof) and paint this orange. Cooler areas, can be painted purple or black. Be creative! Send us your picture or post it at our Instagram with #littlegreenadventures_amersham
So, how do we stop heat leaving our home? Have a look at this video for a fun introduction to insulation. For adults, you can explore how to do this further with the Energy Saving Trust.
Have your older kids explore your monthly bills. See the difference between gas spend (a fossil fuel) and electricity (only partly produced with fossil fuels, around 50%), the difference in price and how the gas spend grows during the colder months. What is your thermostat set to currently? Can you turn it down one degree and see the difference in spend? Always keep it at 18 degrees minimum according to the WHO.
Why not join the Warm This Winter Campaign ? It asks for our government to provide more support and money for houses to get additional insulation and to provide cleaner ways to warm your home. You can input your name or send your MP an email or postcard saying you care.
Have a look at more ideas in our latest newsletter.