READERS may be interested to learn about the reduction of the carbon footprint of our house.

Twenty years ago we moved into our bungalow in Marlow, within which few improvements had been made since its construction in 1958. The building was cold and the heating system inefficient. In retrospect, we estimate the heating requirement for the house we bought was then in excess of 30,000 Kilo Watt Hours (Kwh) per annum. In 2011 we used 5,463 Kwh – less than 20% of what we used two decades ago!

A combination of cavity wall insulation, a condensing boiler, 30cms of loft insulation, an energy management unit, energy efficient radiators, thermostatic radiator valves, low-energy light bulbs, a solar panel for heating water, double glazing our single glazed windows, an air source heat pump and photo-voltaic solar panels for generating electricity, have contributed to us significantly reducing our energy usage.

To complete the picture our rainwater harvesting system is now up and running, which we hope will reduce our water usage by about 25%.

All our improvements have cost less than the cheapest new BMW and, taken over 20 years, we have spent less than £1,000 a year and our house is probably worth at least £20,000 more than it was.

The ongoing yearly savings on energy and water bills are now most gratifying. If we can do it, anyone can. If you do it, future generations will thank you.

John Laker, Spinfield Lane, Marlow