On the morning of Saturday February 7th, I visited Oak Tree House, a recently renovated low carbon home created in partnership with Woking Borough Council and the local community.

I was keen to see if I could add to the improvements I have already made to my own home.  Over the summer last year, I increased the insulation in my loft which will save on both the cost and carbon footprint of heating my house.  I also bought an OWL wireless energy monitor which allows me to see how much each electrical device uses and what this costs and therefore to make appropriate changes to save both energy and money.

I was amazed just how many different things can be done to a home to lower energy consumption, increase insulation, decrease the carbon footprint and generate renewable energy.  Nearly all of them are on show at Oak Tree House, many of them practical and easy enough for people to apply in their own home, saving money and the environment.  The knowledge and examples available from staff really make a visit to Oak Tree House worth while for local residents.

I really hope the Woking Borough Council can put some of these changes into place to really improve the environmental quality of many of the Council owned properties across the borough.

For more information see

http://www.thewokingmagazine.info/winter20082009/inbrief?item=0000492537DE.C0A801BA.0000083F.001A