Sustainable Girton Energy Challenge

The Energy Challenge was set up in spring 2007 thanks to a grant from the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and an idea from David Mackay.

The full report into the challenge is available here. What follows is the web page used to record the results during the challenge.

Its aim is to look at residential energy consumption. Firstly, to establish a baseline of energy usage for a number of households in Girton. Secondly, to see how when families are asked to measure how much energy they use, this affects their energy consumption. Thirdly, in the future we hope to use this baseline to measure the impact that energy saving measures (e.g. insulation) can have on a household so others can see what the benefits are and make informed decisions about how to improve their own houses.

A number of families in Girton volunteered to take part in the study, but it is now complete.

Family #1 is a young couple with a newborn baby. Both are usually at home during the day (one on maternity leave, the other primarily works from home). They live in a 4-bed detached house (roughly 210 sq m), built of brick construction and dating from 1974. It has loft insulation but no double glazing or cavity wall insulation (although probably cavity walls). They use gas for the central heating and hot water, and electricity for cooking

Family #2 consist of just two adults as their children (and grandchildren) live elsewhere.

Family #3 have two adults with two teenage children. They live in a detached house with four bedrooms (roughly 132 sq m) which is about 50 years old. It has loft insulation, cavity walls and double glazing.

Family #4 have two adults, two younger children (aged 10 and 6, both girls), and a cat. The adults often work from home. Their house is a 1930s semi-detached, extended in the 1990s with four bedrooms. It has full loft insulation, is mostly double glazed, but no cavity walls on the original part of the house.

Family #5 is the largest in our study so far: two adults, and three children (aged 6, 5 and 3), with one of the adults (and children when not at school) usually at home during the day. Their house has four bedrooms and was originally a bungalow built in the 1950s, but was creatively extended in the 1980s onto two floors at the back. The extension has lots of windows, and these are mostly single glazed. They have loft insulation, an efficient wood-burning stove as well as gas central heating and hot water.

Family #6 consists of a retired couple, at home for much of the time. Their children no longer live at their home, and they have no pets. They live in a 1930s semi which has been extended in a number of stages and how has 5 bedrooms. Their loft has been converted to another room, with a well insulated roof-space. They have double glazing throughout, cavity walls (not yet insulated) and low-energy lights.

Family #7 have two adults, and two pre-school children (aged 3 and 4). Their house is a three-converted-to-four bedroom semi-detached house, dating from the 1930s. About half of the loft is insulated, it has cavity wall insulation, and a new condensing gas boiler for the heating. Their hot water is heated via solar panels with the gas boiler backing it up.

Family #8 also have two adults and two pre-school children (aged 4 and 2). Their house is also a 4-bed 1930s semi-detached house. The walls do not have a cavity, but they have recent loft insulation (150mm) and it is mostly double glazed (although half is old and not very efficient).

Family #9 are a young couple with just one child (a baby). They have a 1970s four bedroom brick built house with insulated cavity walls, loft insulation (250mm) and double glazing. They have an old gas boiler for the central heating and solar panels to heat the hot water. They use gas for cooking.