AS YOU sit all snug in your lounge, the heat escaping your home is costing the earth and your pocket.
Insulation is the way ahead, but how do you do it in the most eco-friendly way?
www.biggreenswitch.co.uk suggests starting with your walls and your loft, from where 35% and 25% of heat respectively can
be lost. But what materials to use? Suggestions on the forum at www.treehugger.com range from recycled jeans to slow-rise foam. A post at
www.eco-active.je/ ECOBlog proposes wool or recycled newspapers, and 'eco wool' is praised at
http://thegreenguy.typepad.com: "It's made from 85% recycled plastic bottles, so you can feel smug at a double eco hit – you're encouraging recycling and there's less 'embodied energy' – the carbon required to make it in the first place."
Consider all pros and cons before you decide, however, warns a post at
www.getwithgreen.com: "Can it really be safe to put newspaper insulation in the walls? What about the fire risk?"
More cost-effective easy-to-implement insulation tips are provided at
http://frugalecoliving.blogspot.com: "Put up curtains over the windows – the heavier, the better. Shut the curtains and they'll minimise the amount of cold air that seeps in."
Http://timesonline.typepad.com/eco_worrier provides further advice to keep in the heat, from draught excluders to cling-filming your windows.
The full article contains 240 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
