What is the cheapest way of improving the environmental performance of my home?
Initially you want to aim to minimise the amount of energy your house uses and so lesseneing the amount of CO2 produced. Your first step is to check how well insulated the house is. You should aim for around 250 mm of high quality insulation in the loft. If you plan to use the loft for storage then you will need to put in some spacer battens and flooring so as to avoid compressing the insulation. Don’t forget to insulate the loft access hatch, all pipes and tanks. If you have a cavity wall then get it filled with a high quality insulation. It may be possible to insulate the ground floor and this should be investigated. Check all doors and windows to make sure they are draft free. If you are installing a new boiler then try to buy the most efficient model you can afford also consider including solar panels to pre heat the water. If this is outside your budget it may well be worth including pipe work for later solar installation. If you already have a boiler then make sure it is serviced
