In this episode I am joined by Emma Fletcher, Director of Low Carbon Homes at Octopus Energy which focuses on delivering sustainable and affordable energy solutions for residential properties. Emma is also Chair of the Residential Professional Group Panel and a member of the Knowledge and Practice Committee at RICS, where she contributes to advancing best practices in residential surveying.
Emma shares how her interests in properties and visitinghistorical sites and subjects at school influenced her journey.
We chat about how buildings are driven by function and how historically the church would have played a central role both in terms of the community but also in terms of where buildings were located.
We discuss how important health, wellbeing and warmth was in building design particularly since the industrial revolution and how these factors are still a fundamental consideration in building design today. Factors such as engineering, advances in technology and the choices in materials where the best they could afford, striving for excellence are all things we shouldcontinue to consider when designing buildings.
Emma talks about owning a Grade 2 listed property and thechanges the building has seen over years and how each generation has left its mark. This resulted in some surprises being uncovered and how important it is to live in the building before making any changes so that you fully understand the building.
We talk about Emma’s work in bringing the first rural district heat network to the UK and how this could help replace oil and help with rising electric bills. Emma shares her top tips on how to manage gas and electricity bills and make the most of lower tariffs at night and the benefits of solar panels and how they may be perceived by homeowners.
We also discuss the usual challenges, common themes and misconceptions working in the heritage sector along with top tips when working with an older property.
It will be an interesting listen for anyone embarking on a project and is looking for some guidance and anyone generally interested in older properties.
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It would be amazing if we between us can raise awareness onour built heritage.
