22/01/2010 - £1.2bn extra 'lost on poor heating'
According to estimates, the last two weeks of cold weather cost homes and offices in the UK an extra £1.2 billion worth of heat in leakages, compared with a normal winter.
Consultancy Faith+Gould said poorly insulated buildings struggled to cope as temperatures dropped.
A team of carbon management and energy engineering experts suggested that an average poorly insulated three bedroom semi-detached house will have cost its residents an extra £37 on heat over the past fortnight.
Around £284 million may have been spent trying to keep the two million offices in the UK heated, despite most of them being located in cities where temperatures outside are generally warmer, the team said.
Faith+Gould, part of Atkins engineering group, advised investing in insulation or focusing on efficiency when designing buildings to avoid heat loss and slash bills quickly.
Ellie Horwitch-Smith, energy management expert with the firm, said: "As outside temperatures fall, the cold truth is that already inefficient buildings perform increasingly badly as heating systems struggle to maintain the indoor temperatures demanded of them. Heat is simply lost at a greater rate if the temperature drops.
"While the £1.2 billion worth of additional heat lost may be a shocking figure, it is a very conservative estimate."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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