{"id":9635,"date":"2024-01-24T20:41:20","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T19:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/st-albans-and-district\/?p=9635"},"modified":"2024-01-30T08:25:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T07:25:24","slug":"judith-leary-joyce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/st-albans-and-district\/2024\/judith-leary-joyce\/","title":{"rendered":"Judith Leary-Joyce – \u201cBeginner\u2019s Guide to Eco Renovation\u201d – inspired to reduce emissions from our homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Judith<\/a><\/strong>On Monday 22nd January, Soroptimist International St Albans and District hosted an important talk on Zoom with Judith Leary-Joyce, author of the \u201cBeginner\u2019s Guide to Eco Renovation\u201d. Judith is a great speaker – energising and motivating – a real inspiration.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You and your builder can help save the planet \u2013 the why and how of making your home more energy efficient and sustainable.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of the event we heard from Amanda Yorwerth from Friends of the Earth about the important and very relevant \u201cUnited for Warm Homes\u201d campaign \u2013 please scroll down for more information. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Group<\/a>\"Group<\/a>40 people attended the Zoom with Judith \u2013 from far and wide, Soroptimists and non-Soroptimists. The guests from Taiwan were from the furthest away, and we also had guests from all over the UK including Yorkshire, Cheshire and Devon.<\/p>\n

Since 21% of emissions in the UK come from leaky homes, reducing this impact is vital in the fight to achieve net zero and tackle the climate crisis. We have already explored ways to build new environmentally friendly \u201cpassive\u201d homes but what about the many existing homes we live in \u2013 what can and should we do about them?<\/p>\n

\"Judith<\/a>The Club\u2019s Planet Team\u00a0invited Judith to share her knowledge and experience gained retrofitting her own 1901 Victorian end of terrace home in St Albans. Judith\u2019s practical approach and resilience, which helped her find solutions where everyday building practice did not appear to offer any, will inspire you to tackle your own home.<\/p>\n

Helen Byrne, introduced Judith and started with a poll asking the question: Where are you with Eco-Renovation? <\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Currently improving my home – 12%<\/li>\n
  2. Planning to improve my home – 18%<\/li>\n
  3. Interested in energy efficiency – 61%<\/li>\n
  4. New to this and wanting to know more 9%<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Judith\u2019s presentation can be downloaded here: Soroptimist retrofit talk Jan 2024 Judith Leary-Joyce<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

    The Zoom was recorded and can be viewed on YouTube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Coewt6Q1PSU<\/a><\/strong> it is about 1 hour long.<\/p>\n

    \"Judith<\/a>Judith\u2019s background is in Social Work and Psychotherapy and after retirement she developed a passion for insulation. She spoke about the benefits of insulation – having a warmer home with lower energy bills which is more efficient.<\/p>\n

    They have lived in their home for 46 years and this began initially as a project to convert the conservatory into a room and they wanted the conversion to create a more energy efficient living space. She began with getting a design created by an Eco Architect.\u00a0 During this time the plan was expanded, and the project became one to retrofit the whole home to make it an eco-home. Judith explained that the term retrofit was used as they were installing technology that wasn\u2019t included when the house was initially built.<\/p>\n

    \"Judith<\/a>They have now saved 75% of their energy usage and added value to their home. It is now warm in the winter (and can be kept cool in the summer too).<\/p>\n

    Throughout the process she developed an expertise on the terminology and process needed to complete the task and decided to create a layman’s guide for others wanting to take on a similar project. She said that the building profession and industry has a long way to go\u2026 She explained the three levels of retrofitting, deep<\/strong> (retrofitting the whole home as one project), phased<\/strong> (working through the house in stages) and shallow<\/strong> (taking steps to create a more energy efficient home without the building work). A shallow retrofit is an approach anyone can undertake, even if they do not own their own \"Judith<\/a>home.\u00a0 Judith shared the pdf booklet she had created on the subject \u2013 it is on Judith’s website https:\/\/ecorenovationhome.com<\/a>. Judith said that 90% of homes can be improved<\/p>\n

    Judith talked about the importance of establishing your priorities and goals when undertaking a project like this.\u00a0 These include climate, budget and design.\u00a0 This became a touchstone and guided the decision-making process.<\/p>\n

    She talked about how insulation increases the barrier between the inside and the outside. The next step is to test how airtight the space is.\u00a0 This can be done using a piece \"Judith<\/a>of equipment that pushes air out of the space so that the draughty spaces can be filled.\u00a0 There still needs to be air flow but the aim is to control this through a heat recovery ventilation system.\u00a0 Effective ventilation should stop the build-up of condensation.\u00a0 They installed an Air Sourced Heat Pump (ASHP).<\/p>\n

    Judith was very proud that most of the things that had to be removed from the house (e.g the kitchen) were either reused, rehomed or recycled.<\/p>\n

    Proceeds from Judith\u2019s book \u201cBeginners Guide to Eco Renovation”<\/strong> go to Friends of the Earth (see below for the link to buy it).<\/p>\n

    There was one very valid comment in the Zoom chat: \u201cI’m renting so don’t have control over this but we still do everything we can to be as energy efficient as possible.\u201d There is clearly much work to be done with landlords.<\/p>\n

    There was time for plenty of questions in the Q&A:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Q:\u00a0 What type of insulation did you use please?<\/p>\n

    A: Wood fibre for most of the house plus a little recycled fabric in the bathroom.<\/p>\n

    Q: Are there any forums where I can find out more?<\/p>\n

    A: There are groups on Facebook you can join to get advice on different Eco-insulation that is advertised. Eco Insulation Companies Judith recommended are https:\/\/unitylime.co.uk\/<\/a> \u00a0in Aylesbury and https:\/\/www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com<\/a> which is based in Cumbria.<\/p>\n

    Q: Has Judith any advice for choosing a builder?<\/p>\n

    A: Work on getting yourself well informed as many builders aren\u2019t familiar with this kind of building project. Judith has one she would recommend.<\/p>\n

    Q: Does an ASHP need to be close to the existing boiler piping? Or can it be sited elsewhere?<\/p>\n

    A: It depends on the pipes \u2013 you will need more for further away from the hot water tank and they need to be insulated. A: from another attendee: Ours is at the other side of the house – they fed the pipes along the landing under the floor boards.<\/p>\n

    Q: Did you have a budget for the retro-fit and if so did it go over the budget?<\/p>\n

    A: They went over budget by about \u00a330K.<\/p>\n

    Q: What would you say would be the first three priorities one should have if approaching a shallow refit?<\/p>\n

    A: First priority is to hire a Thermal Imaging Camera to see where your house loses heat from. This can be done through the Sustainable St Albans group.<\/p>\n

    Q: Were your solar panels expensive?<\/p>\n

    A: They are becoming more affordable so quicker to pay for themselves. We are adding more \u2013 you don\u2019t have to install them all in one go.<\/p>\n

    Q: What about keeping summer heat out? Does an ASHP work in reverse?<\/p>\n

    A: It should do. Not tested in our home. If we seal the house on hot days it stays cool because insulation keeps the heat out.<\/p>\n

    Q: You spoke about removing tiles on a roof and retrofitting insulation – was that very expensive?<\/p>\n

    A: It needn\u2019t be \u2013 depends how much you are willing to do yourself.<\/p>\n

    Q: You spoke about how important it is to get appropriate ventilation in.\u00a0 What is the type of ventilation that one should be looking at – like the white boxes that you mentioned?<\/p>\n

    A: Yes you MUST! Trickle vents are not enough. Heat recovery units \u2013 you can get for single rooms and add them afterwards \u2013 you just need an outside wall.<\/p>\n

    Q: Looking at buying a house \u2013 what to look for?<\/p>\n

    A: What is the possibility of making it an eco-house? Make sure you are well informed. Ask about what has been done already \u2013 insulation, windows. Is it suitable for solar panels?<\/p>\n

    Judith said she is always happy to answer questions \u2013 you can contact her through her website.<\/p>\n

    There is lots of information in Judith\u2019s book.<\/p>\n

    Diana Kingham thanked Judith for her interesting and inspiring talk.<\/p>\n

    Judith offered to host an open house for anyone interested in learning more. The St Albans Soroptimist Club will co-ordinate. Some Members of the Club’s Planet Team had visited ahead of this event and were really inspired.<\/p>\n

    There was some great feedback for Judith after her talk: \u201cThank you very much Judith, that’s been very helpful\u201d. \u201cThank you Judith.\u00a0 Stimulating talk.\u201d \u201cThank you so much!\u201d. \u201cThank you very much.\u00a0 Very informative and interesting!\u201d \u201cReally useful and interesting talk.\u201d \u201cThanks Judith for sharing & thanks SI St Albans for making meeting available for us all.\u201d \u201cThanks Judith – you’re an inspiration!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"Beginner's<\/a>Judith\u2019s book \u201cBeginners Guide to Eco Renovation: understanding the basics and the best questions to ask\u201d<\/strong> is good value and easy to read \u2013 the equivalent of sitting down over coffee to learn from each other\u2019s experiences. You can buy it from most book shops and from Amazon by clicking on this link https:\/\/amzn.to\/3EOBHjM<\/a> . Judith has a blog on all things to do with eco renovation \u2013 ecorenovationhome.com<\/a> where you can also download her free simple guide to saving money on heating bills \u201cStay warm for less\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Judith\u2019s TEDx talk is also available to view here (it\u2019s only 13 mins long):\u00a0 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SbN7sUauhWM&t=653s<\/a><\/p>\n

    \"Amanda<\/a>We also \u00a0heard from Amanda Yorwerth from\u00a0Friends of the Earth about the<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cUnited for Warm Homes\u201d campaign which is very relevant to Judith\u2019s talk. Fuel poverty and climate change has a affects women more than men so this is really important for Soroptimists. Click here to find out more\u00a0www.stalbansfoe.org\/united-for-warm-homes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    United for Warm Homes<\/strong> is calling for:<\/p>\n