Last Monday, as we sat in the audience of this years, Arts Council's Annual Lecture: An Evening with Kevin McCloud, no one knew what to expect.
What we thought was going to be a walk through McCloud’s career, turned out to be something quite different all together.
Although the evening started off this way, with witty banter, pictures of beautiful houses across the UK, and stories about all the people he has met and worked with. The second half of the evening looked quite different.
Presenting Kevin McCloud, the eco warrior and sustainability king.
In front of a captive audience, Kevin spoke about sustainability, Net Zero and what people around the world are doing to build a sustainable future. This man knows his stuff, having worked in the industry for several decades, Kevin has come across multiple projects with sustainability at its forefront. McCloud has spent his career mixing with people who want to make a difference. And for some, that difference comes in the form of eco houses, sustainable living and forward thinking architecture. Such as passive housing. Where one house can generate enough electricity to power 3 more houses!
Kevin now dedicates much of his efforts to big projects such as One Planet Living in which there is a vision for a positive, restorative future, and a framework of 10 simple principles from zero carbon to health and happiness. This project in Wales, focuses on the use of "stuff" and the idea of being happy and content with what you have as a contributing member of society. Kevin applauded Wales for their progressive thinking, especially when it comes to the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
During his interview with Christy De Haven, Kevin was asked what his tips for energy efficiency were, during this difficult time of cost of living.
“Insulate, insulate, insulate, insulate, insulate, insulate!”
“The old ways are the best”, Kevin suggested going back to the simpler times, curtains in front of doors, rubber tubing that can be bought cheaply online and sausage dog draft excluders. Kevin spoke about how draft proofing your house will save you money and keep your house warm. He does warn however, that it can’t be over insulated, as you shouldn’t compromise your air quality or create too much humidity.
"Just enough."
Kevin reiterates a very important point throughout the talk, and that is two words ‘Just enough’. This is the idea that we don’t need to over do it, we don’t need to fill our houses, and subsequently our lives, with 'stuff'. The message was to have only what you need.
As if this wasn’t enough, and anyone in the audience from the Net Zero team wasn’t already giddy, Kevin continues, talking about how we should ‘make do and mend’. Kevin discussed how we should be fixing and repairing furniture and clothing, and the pride we would place on these repairs would make us really value the items.
Kevin, from the Net Zero team, you are an inspiration, thank you for speaking up on the importance of our response to Climate Change and sharing our message to the people of the Island.
If you would like to know more about how you can insulate your home and prepare it for winter, please contact the Energy Efficiency team to discuss your options, call on 0808 1624276 or visit https://costoflivingsupport.gov.im/energy-efficiency-scheme-2022/. Or, to learn about more government support available see our Energy Save page.