Saving energy as an individual is one thing, but working together we could all save more.
‘We can turn the energy market on its head by designing services that help people get together to find contractors, cut installation costs and trade home-grown energy,’ says Chris Vanstone. The team’s suggestions include ‘JobDone’, which will take the hassle out of having to deal with builders, fitters and contractors. By signing up for ‘JobDone’ online or at a local DIY store, you could find others in your area having similar energy-saving work done and cut the costs by joining forces. And if there are more than five of you, you would be assigned a ‘JobDone’ project manager to oversee the work.
The team also looked at how people could become producers of energy, not just consumers. It created a concept campaign called OneMillionRoofs to get more than one million London households to sign up for a wind turbine - which would be installed free of charge on their roofs - and so get a rebate on their electricity. And if you have a wind turbine or your own solar energy panels you could sell the surplus: the team proposed a Home Energy Trading Scheme, which will allow you to donate your surplus electricity to a pool if it’s generated while you’re out, and draw from it when you’re at home.
And forget Tupperware – have an energy party. The team suggested that for £50 an expert could come over and help you discover how you are wasting energy and what changes you could make to save the most money. He or she would leave you with a hitlist of things to do to get your home into shape, and a discount card that would entitle you to discounts from suppliers and support services to a value greater than the cost of the night itself.
