Rose Watson’s commendable war on energy waste

I recently read a helpful article by Alok Jha on the Guardian webite about how Rose Watson, a homeowner in Nottingham, had taken some drastic steps to reduce both her family’s carbon footprint and her energy bills. It was entitled “One womans war on energy waste“, and rationally set out the moral and ethical delimma facing every property owner about the difficulty of genuinely wanting to reduce one’s carbon footprint and save energy, whilst trying at the same time to save money in these recessionary times.

The article explained that “When Rose Watson moved into her Nottingham home nine years ago, there was no central heating, the gas heater in the living room was leaking carbon monoxide, and any warmth in the building tended to leach out of the draughty single-glazed windows.” Consequently her family were pouring out energy and money through the single glazed windows.

However, Rose addressed these issues. “Over the next two years, following the tips from the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and others, Watson got hooked on simple ways to green her home. Her paper-thin loft insulation was topped up to the recommended 200mm, energy-saving lightbulbs went up in all the rooms, the single-glazed windows were replaced with double-glazing, and draught excluders were fixed under all the doors and around the front door.”

Caroline Rams of the Energy Saving Trust (of which Hazlemere Window Company Ltd are members) says that Rose Watson’s actions shows what an average British family can achieve with ease when trying to make their first cut in carbon emissions. “Rose has a busy life and a large family who certainly keep her on her toes. Yet she has always found time to prioritise her energy- saving behaviour; so much so that it has become second nature. She is the perfect example of how you don’t have to change too much of your lifestyle to become green.”