The Ecoflap

Easy-fit letter box draught excluder

Tag: retrofit

Badly designed energy efficiency retrofit can cause more problems than it solves

Retrofit for energy efficiency success

March 7, 2016 /

What makes a successful energy efficiency retrofit?

Badly designed energy efficiency retrofit can cause more problems than it solves

Badly designed energy efficiency retrofit can cause more problems than it solves

Short-term thinking: a retrofit disaster

I read an article on the Sustainable Homes website today that brought to mind a conversation with an ex-colleague, the property manager at a historic house in the south east of England. Her point was that ever since the sash windows had been sealed in their offices, the windows ran with damp and surely this couldn’t be a good thing. She’s absolutely right and the cause is as described in the article on the blog:

The tendency…to focus on the immediate and short term, with the consequent potential for a poorly designed and risk-controlled project, has long been a concern.

ECO funding

This article was looking at the implementation of ECO and specifically its focus on the short-term fix and goes on to look at organisations that have preferred to run projects without this type of funding, eg Viridian Housing, in order to retain more control.The blog post is a response to an article from Inside Housing (you need to regsiter to read articles) questioning whether energy efficiency work was in fact causing rather than solving problems for social housing tenants, but as the SH blog comments:

poor design, planning, procurement and delivery will create significant problems, and that’s the case for any work irrespective of why you wish to carry it out.

Active management

It’s vital particularly in this context to distinguish cause from effect. The author of the blog post, Tony Jarman of Your Homes Newcastle, points out the dangers of box-ticking to qualify for funding in an areas that “has to be actively managed”. He outlines the areas of skill and expertise that are required and the planning and monitoring pre- and post-retrofit that must be carried out. Otherwise, as he says, energy efficiency could become “the villain of the piece” and that would serve no-one.

Going back to that conversation I had, it’s all about “active management” of ventilation. Draughty sashes aren’t comfortable, but properly maintained and used as originally intended sash windows provide excellent draught-free ventilation. Sealing them up and bringing ventilation to an abrupt stop allows damp to build up. Apart from being uncomfortable to work in, damp is very dangerous for any building and will lead to a host of problems. Draughtproofing yes, lack of controlled ventilation no.

Older, not colder: warmer homes for older people

March 2, 2016 /

Older, not colder

older, not colder

Older, not colder: warmer houses have multiple benefits for the older population. The UK’s housing stock is among the hardest and most expensive to heat in Europe.

Older, not colder: we were struck today by a report released by AgeUK looking at the effects of being cold on our older population. Specifically, it focussed on hard to heat houses and the costs associated with that.

Wide ranging report

The report ranges widely to cover health issues and excess deaths, managing and understanding bills and different energy delivery systems, the different challenges posed by different housing types and proposes a solution: an ambitious government-funded reftrofit programme to bring housing up to the required standard.

The report’s point can be summed up by these two paragraphs:

The rising costs of energy and the difficulties of having a hard-to-heat
home mean that many older people on low incomes fear not being able
to pay their energy bills and are being forced to ration their heating, during
even the coldest weather.

Many older people who are faced with the stark choice between heating
or eating end up rationing both with disastrous effects on their physical
and mental health and wellbeing.

Benefits of energy efficiency programme

The benefits of bring up to standard our most inefficient housing (that in bands D to G) would be manifold. Housing brought up to spec would stay that way, gas supplies would be brought permanently to areas currently without that option, claner and renewable fuels could be used more widely, and that’s before the cost benefits to the NHS.

Powerful reports

Including facts and figures, infographics and upsetting case studies, the report packs a punch. Read in conjunction with the NEA’s report on the shocking daily cost of needless cold-related illness, we hope those in a position to make the appropriate financial contribution will pay attention and take action.

Download the PDF here.

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Retrofit an EcoFlap

Is retrofit behind record Ecoflap sales?

July 18, 2014 /
Retrofit an EcoFlap

Retrofit upir door with an Ecoflap quickly and easily

Best ever Ecoflap summer sales

We’re delighted to report that Ecoflap is experiencing its best ever summer sales this year. We’d love to think that this is because people are heeding the retrofit message. Ecoflaps are so quick and easy to fit to any horizontal letterbox and cost a fraction of the big retrofit energy efficiency measures such as cavity wall insulation and new windows while making a big impact.

Icing on the cake

For those households that are undertaking major energy efficiency works such as a new boiler, an Ecoflap is the icing on the cake. Cold air can sneak in to a house in all sorts of places, but the hallway is a special case:

If you have a thermostat, chances are it’s in the hallway, and if you have a letterbox, chances are it will open into your hallway. Thermostats control boilers and unprotected letterboxes let in draughts, so a draught whistling in through the letterbox will lead the thermostat to believe that the house is chillier than it may really be.

Why heat up cold air?

The simple solution is to keep that cold air out in the first place and stop the boiler constantly having to warm up cold air. A retrofit Ecoflap keeps cold air out by shutting completely and to passivhaus standards. In windy conditions it  will only ever blow more firmly shut. Ecoflaps don’t rattle, yet open very easily for post to come through.

Ecoflap is a complementary measure

We think an essential component of retrofit advice is that energy efficient home appliances and smart thermostats in themselves do nothing to prevent cold blasts sneaking in. Seal those leaky spots and you will inevitably use less energy heating your house. Complement that with new boilers and smart thermostats and you’re well positioned to get the upper hand over that energy bill.

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monitoring energy
This door has an Ecoflap and a draughtbusting curtain

Retrofit energy efficiency

June 25, 2014 /
Ecoflap - retrofit energy efficiency

An Ecoflap retrofitted to a PVC door in a 1930s house

Retrofit energy efficiency “national infrastructure priority”

We were very interested in this UK Green Building Council article today “Home energy efficiency must be a “national infrastructure priority”, major coalition urges”. The article focuses on an open letter to the government, specifically Lord Deighton, Commercial Secretary to the Treasury, signed by 20 organisations across the environment, housing and construction sectors, urging heavy investment in retrofit energy efficiency measures.

Ageing housing stock

The letter emphasises Britain’s dire record on fuel poverty, excess winter deaths and cold, draughty housing stock, and comes as the group of signatories publishes the report A housing stock fit for the future: Making home energy efficiency a national infrastructure priority. The report sets out the wider economic benefits of increased home energy efficiency, eg job creation and decreased seasonal stress on the NHS, rather than simply lower bills for the individual, with an emphasis on retrofit energy efficiency for our rapidly ageing inter-war housing stock.

Low cost, simply installed and tremendously effective

Wherever you stand in the economic chain, increased energy efficiency, retrofit home by home, is undoubtedly desirable and beneficial and should be a priority. We entirely support this group’s calls for funding for retrofit energy efficiency, and would be very happy to play our part. Energy efficiency isn’t all about enormously expensive, disruptive and complex retrofit measures We recently heard a social housing official make two comments:

“nothing is cheap”

and

“boilers, insulation, double glazing: we’ve picked all the low-hanging fruit”

As a company providing a low-cost, simply installed and tremendously effective retrofit draught-proofing measure suitable for any house with a horizontal letterbox, no matter how old that house, we have to disagree. An Ecoflap complements and enhances any other energy efficiency measure. Insulate your loft, install a more efficient boiler and it’s only common sense to prevent that warm air getting out through leaky windows, but all these measures are slightly less effective if cold air is still coming through the letterbox and needing to be warmed up. If anything was ever low-hanging fruit, it’s an Ecoflap.

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