I'm Dreaming of a Warm Christmas

As energy crises hit the headlines, environmental issues are a hot topic at the moment. Especially for consumers. The government is pushing for the removal of domestic gas boilers and their replacement with air- and ground-source heat pumps; pumps that need well-insulated homes to be effective. Meanwhile, campaign group, Insulate Britain are forcefully demonstrating that properties in the UK are not well-insulated. What’s the cost, what’s the problem we are trying to address, and what are the consequences. At present, you cannot sell your house without a Home Energy Performance Certificate and soon these will be linked to your ability to get a mortgage. From 2026 private landlords will need to cut emissions in their properties, gas prices are set to rise 30% next year; and the cost of net zero is predicted to be more than £1trillion. With 4 million low-income households behind on their rent, household bills or personal debt payments (up threefold since Covid) is the public convinced by such a costly energy-saving environmental agenda? Has the hypocrisy of billionaires flying to COP made us realise that Green solutions are just “blah, blah, blah”, or are people justifiably annoyed at having to spend £000s ripping out perfectly good boilers? Are there new and efficient technologies around the corner or should we be minimising the use of technologies in favour of passive solutions? Is all this necessary? Is it a crisis – a time to panic - or should we look for cool heads in the global warming debate? After all, the green-inspired ditching of nuclear power in Germany has not only vastly increased energy prices but resulted in increased emissions. In the UK, a lack of wind in September forced National Grid to fire up coal-fired power stations in the UK. What are the real implications of these various policies on each and every one of us? We have asked four experts to consider the question in our Christmas debate: SPEAKERS: Rick Moore, owner, InControl, electronic engineer Rico Wojtulewicz, senior policy advisor for the House Builders Association Geoff Wilkinson, Award-winning Approved Inspector; columnist, Architects’ Journal Caspar Hewett, founder member of the North East of England’s United Nations Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development