Energy Bar

I meet a few people every year who make the massive lifestyle decision to build their own house.

Massive, because they are invariably making a bid to get away from the housing estate mentality and taking an opportunity to do something that they have always wanted to do.

This is usually made possible by a good many years of sacrifice in terms of saving up that big cash contribution to make up a conventional mortgage funding shortfall, trailing round model properties, attending Ideal Home Exhibitions, queueing at the checkout in WH Smith Newsagents to buy a raft of "Self Build" project magazines, watching archive broadcasts of Grand Design, collecting brick and timber samples, spending endless hours talking to wife, partner and children to convince them of the ethical and fiscal benefits and an equal amount of valuable time convincing yourself that what you intend to do is the right and proper thing.

A few years ago the emphasis was on floor area, style, individuality and making a bit of a statement.

There has, more recently, been a subtle change in that all of the foregoing are still major considerations but even more so are design features to try to achieve that elusive zero carbon footprint and energy self sufficiency.

In so much as there is a movement in the United States preparing for civil unrest of an apocalyptic event or series of events the same "Prepping" label applies to the new generation of self build exponents.

The motivations to achieve independence from the power companies and grid system of distribution are not always purely financial but borne also out of a genuine desire to use less energy.

There has been, in the Western economies an all encompassing obsession with growth. The average for the last few hundred years at 3% is regarded, by current governmental aspirations, as being barely acceptable to maintain the wealth and status of a nation. China, for example, is extremely disappointed to announce a dramatic collapse to only 7% annual growth from supreme performance in previous years.

Many commentators and analysts believe that the desire for growth will inevitably lead to the destruction of the world environment.

Growth is after all on an exponential track and so the magic 3% annual rate would, it is speculated, at a point around 400 years in the future lead to the boiling of the seas and the baking of the earth. Surprisingly this is not a consequence of global warming but an actual rise in temperature from the heat brought about our actual consumption of energy.

Currently, the western economies use five times more energy than the wider world average.

If we are truly serious in bringing the rest of the world, that is the developing nations and everyone else towards parity then that would mean finding five times more fossil fuels and natural resources. Arguably, we are already at tipping point for oil although the relentless recent  pursuit of shale gas extraction seems to have caused this major issue to be parked and briefly forgotten.

We, in the West, must realise that it is up to us individually and collectively to simply use less energy so that the rest of the world can take up the surplus without depleting already scarce natural resources.

It is possible.

It can be done but at a price of reduced expectations, a change in lifestyles and a major rethink of energy use.

Much of the existing and ageing housing stock in the UK does not readily take to energy saving measures apart from loft insulation, double glazing and an "A" rated domestic appliance. There have been developments in applying external insulation but best expectations for performance are still well below a purpose built property.

The shopping list for zero carbon and energy self sufficiency can include solar panels, battery storage, ground source or air source heating, wind turbines, solar gain and heat recirculation measures , triple glazing and a host of others not yet proven, ridiculously expensive or just a bit eccentric (bring in the worm/compost waste system)..

In addition you could consider a hybrid car that could be charged up at home, rainwater collection and filtration. livestock husbandry, a water bore hole and a large all year round vegetable garden and fruit orchard.

All of these measures do of course involve high investment and pulling together an architectural design to facilitate the necessary could leave you with a bit of a radical and offensive eyesore of a house.

Perhaps, after all we are not ready to accept this fundamental rethink of our lives and be pushed to the very limits of our comfort zone, particularly if there is a chance of upsetting the neighbours.