Andrew, Oxford

17 January 2011

I recently moved into rented accommodation in Oxford and when the snow came our heating just couldn't keep up. We had four electric storage heaters on full power all day for over a month and the temperature didn't get above 15 degrees.

We've done everything we can as tenants to keep the place warm, such as thermal curtains and temporary secondary glazing, but with no insulation in the loft and painfully draughty windows it's like fighting a fire with a water pistol.

But the worst part wasn't the cold. It was the guilt we felt knowing how much carbon dioxide our heating was pumping into the atmosphere. Our two bedroom terraced flat was using 800 KWh a week over that period, which is more than my parents use each quarter in their four bedroom detached house.