Why Energy Efficiency is a Necessity Not a Luxury | Glaze & Save

Earth Overshoot Day has been moved back by two days this year , and today is now the day where we humans have consumed a year’s worth of natural resources. That leaves four months of the year where we are now consuming resources at a deficit.

Speaking in The Guardian , Mattias Wackernagel, chief executive and co-founder of Global Footprint Network, says “Our current economies are running a Ponzi scheme with our planet…We are borrowing the Earth’s future resources to operate our economies in the present. Like any Ponzi scheme, this works for some time. But as nations, companies, or households dig themselves deeper and deeper into debt, they eventually fall apart.”

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when our demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. We maintain this deficit by utilizing more than the Earth can produce, while ourselves producing waste in the form of carbon dioxide and other environmental pollutants.

We are already starting to see the devastating effects of our over-consumption of the Earth’s resources in increased resource scarcity and climate destabilisation across the world. As stated in Innovators Mag “tweaking habits and business cultures won’t even scratch the surface, a transformation of behaviours at all levels is needed”.

This is especially true when just 100 companies create 71% of all carbon emissions , including some fossil fuel giants of the world, which just reinforces how important it is to move away from fossil fuels and embrace renewable technology.

We need to face the facts: to ensure the continued survival of our planet and the being living on it, we need to make far reaching, global and drastic changes especially those of us who live in the wealthier countries of the world. The richest 10% of the population create half of all carbon dioxide emissions , while the poorest half of the population create just 10% of the carbon dioxide emissions, so it is clear where the changes need to come from.

At Glaze & Save we know that the construction industry is one of the worst offenders when it comes to consuming resources.

The UK construction industry uses 295 million tonnes of virgin materials every year, and produces 150 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste annually. This is one of the reasons why we developed our End of Life Recycling Policy for InvisiTherm® systems, whereby in the event that our InvisiTherm® systems were no longer required in a building, we will remove them free of charge. We are committed to reducing waste and saving energy. The systems will then be used in fuel-poor households with all unused systems being fully recycled. We hope that by working together we can reduce construction waste and continue to find new lives and new homes for high quality materials such as InvisiTherm®.

But what can we do on a day to day basis to reduce the demands that we make on the earth and turn back the clock on Earth Overshoot Day?

Cutting back on the amount of meat and dairy we eat, reducing the amount that we fly, choosing renewable energy suppliers and choosing to carpool or use public transport are all ways in which we can reduce our consumption of natural resources. However, one of the major things that we can do, and that we at Glaze & Save always encourage, is to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings.

A study carried out by Global Footprint Network looked at how much of an impact retrofitting buildings with technology available today could reduce the carbon footprint:

“Since we wanted to analyze what is possible already today, the assessment focused on retrofitting existing buildings and industrial processes. On the energy side, we estimated current decarbonization opportunities of the electricity systems, based on current grid limitations. We found that these opportunities can move the date by 15 days . The energy retrofit and the decarbonization of electricity combined would move the date by over 21 days . This is a conservative estimate as it is based on Schneider Electric’s tested offerings. In addition, technologies outside of Schneider Electric’s realm may well exist to make those sectors even more efficient and move the date even further. On top of that, shifting people’s resource use habits also holds a large potential.”

The results can also be measured in cold, hard cash as well as in days.

“Dallas County, the ninth largest county in the U.S., government spent $600,000 on 54 buildings for improvements including mechanical system upgrades, water conservation controls and fixtures, and lighting with motion sensors. The project is expected to reduce utility bills by 31 percent, ultimately saving $73 million over 10 years. The county expects to reduce carbon emissions by more than 500,000 tons, which equates to removing nearly 85,000 cars from the road or planting 125,000 trees.”

While the biggest ways to claw back some days from the Earth Overshoot calendar is to engage is political action to change the way that our world is run and the way that it is allowed to be exploited, we can still make changes as individuals. For many of us, energy efficiency retrofitting represents a painless way to save the earth (while saving some cash at the same time). But know that the steps we must take are no longer a luxury, they are a necessity, and something we must start today to ensure that there is a tomorrow.

Save energy, reduce construction waste and experience a warmer, cozy and more thermally efficient home with InvisiTherm® the all-in-one window solution. Reduce heat loss by 63%, Reduce noise by a minimum of 58%, eradicate condensation and draughts, and completely eliminate ultraviolet fading, all without the need for any permissions. Retain your original windows and full working shutters while turning your single glazing into double glazing. Contact today on 01738 562 068 or via our contact form to find out more about our environmental award-winning all-in-one window solution, and arrange your free survey.