ABSTRACT
Finally, the team found that the financial payback time for investing in a tonne of annual CO2 saving (dividing capital cost per tonne of CO2 saved by bill saving for the 36 people in the terrace), worked out at almost 800 years for the sun-spaces, but only one week for the car club. Surprised? I was – by the extent of the difference. Of course it’s because the cost of running a car is high, and cars produce a lot of emissions. Pooran Desai concludes: ‘This doesn’t mean that I am saying don’t bother creating energy-efficient homes. What I am saying is that there is a point of emphasis and of diminishing returns with building fabric. We are getting there, but still have a way to go. If we stop at CO2 footprint we are not getting a full indication of our contribution to global warming.’
