Hotshot greens caught wasting home heat

The Sunday Times
February 15, 2009
A survey of the homes of top environmentalists has found they leak energy
Steven Swinford and Jonathan Leake

THEY may shout their green credentials from the rooftops, but some of Britain’s most prominent environmental champions are living in homes that produce up to half a ton of excess carbon dioxide a year.
An audit of properties, measuring heat loss, has revealed that Chris Martin, the pop star, Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, and Sir David Attenborough, the broadcaster, are among those who reside in homes that are “leaking” energy. Some lack even the most basic energy saving measures such as cavity wall insulation and double glazing.
Thermal images of the residences of 10 high-profile green campaigners found that their heat loss was either worse or no better than that found in the average family home.
Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat energy and climate change spokesman, owned the least energy-efficient property. He bought his £150,000 flat in Southwark, south London, 25 years ago but has failed to fit it with any significant insulation. Only last week Hughes unveiled plans to make every home in Britain energy efficient within the next decade. He could start with his own flat.

According to IRT Surveys, which analysed the thermal images for The Sunday Times, an estimated 1,812 kilowatt hours of heat a year seeps out through the walls and windows. The extra heating needed to make up for this loss produces 471kg of CO2 This weekend Hughes said he was planning to move. “I’m conscious that the house does need some more work to be as well insulated as possible,” he said. “If I stay, it will have a full survey and anything that’s necessary. In theory it doesn’t waste much energy because for large parts of the day there’s nobody there.”
The IRT analysis assumes the property is in use the whole year round. However, Steve Howard of the Climate Group, which advises businesses and governments about reducing emissions, said: “Even a poorly paid MP can afford cavity wall insulation - it will pay for itself in three years. It’s a no-brainer.”
Johnson is a late convert to the environmental cause and has sought to enhance his reputation by offering Londoners discounted home insulation.
However, his five-bedroom Victorian house in Islington, north London, loses 1,388kWh of energy a year - equivalent to - largely because of “excessive heat loss” around 360kg of CO2 the upper and lower windows.
Jenny Jones, a Green party London assembly member, said: “It’s all very well to advise the rest of London how to behave, but if you’re going to be credible you’ve got to do it yourself. He has to put his own house in order.”
A source close to Johnson claimed that energy saving measures would be too costly to implement in such an old property, which has neither a loft nor cavities in the walls. The mayor also plans to move soon.
Experts say having a period property is no excuse and suggest the internal cladding of walls, draught-proofing and solar water heaters as ways of improving energy efficiency.
Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, and his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress, have both championed green issues. Paltrow backed the American “Act Green” energy conservation campaign, while Martin tried to offset CO2 emissions produced by his band’s second album by planting a forest of mango trees in India.
Yet the couple's £2.5m home in Belsize Park, north London, wastes 1,020kWh of heat a year. A spokesman for Martin refused to comment.
Attenborough, the veteran naturalist and broadcaster, has lived in the same Georgian villa in Richmond, southwest London, for 40 years. Despite the installation of new boilers and insulation of the roof, the windows remain single-glazed because the property is in a conservation area.
As a result, it loses 1,107kWh of energy a year. “I’m talking to people about solar panels,” Attenborough said. “The property is 200 years old so we are limited [in what we can do].”
Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, who denounced flying as “a symptom of sin” two years ago, lives at the Old Deanery near St Paul’s Cathedral. The property loses 518kWh and burns 134kg of CO2 a year in extra heating. A spokesman for the bishop said the grade I listed building had recently undergone an environmental audit and further improvements would be made to reduce heat loss.
John Sauven, director of Greenpeace, admitted that he had also struggled to make his £500,000 London home more energy efficient because of its age. To compensate, he has installed draught-proofing and solar panels. He also drives an electric car and no longer flies when going on holiday. Sauven is considering taking out a second mortgage to install double glazing, which costs more in a conservation area.
The audit, using a camera provided by Flir, which makes thermal imaging equipment, found Hilary Benn, the environment minister, Ed Miliband, the climate change minister, and David Cameron, the Tory leader, had the most energy efficient of the 10 properties.
Lost energy
Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster: 288kg
Lord Smith of Finsbury, chairman of the Environment Agency: 186kg
John Sauven, director of Greenpeace: 158kg
Richard Chartres, Bishop of London: 135kg
Hilary Benn, environment secretary: 126kg
Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary: 121kg
David Cameron, Tory leader: 21kg
Figures assume round-the-year usage of the property