Jon Cowdrill

I live in Hackney in an old tower block which has been condemned to be knocked down. I am spending the month of June living off the national grid for gas and electricity. I have no fridge, I cook on a camping stove, I watch the stars at night (well I would if it wasn’t for all the light pollution).

The reason I’m doing this is to see if I can get renewable energy to work in a city environment with very little suitable space and without being backed up by the national grid. Why do I care about this? Its for environmental and social reasons, primarily because of climate change and rising energy costs. I’d like to see how unpleasant it will be but also to see if there any benefits. Can new technology help us ditch fossil fuels and escape rising energy costs?

Having studied a masters focusing on renewable energy I enjoyed assessing various technologies and energy futures as well as looking at policy initiatives. Since then I’ve volunteered for all sorts of groups and initiatives like Transition Highbury, Carbon Conversations, The Green Party and Climate Camp I have met lot of fascinating people and learned invaluable skills and information.

Putting knowledge and skills into action I’m currently working for Joju Solar, a Solar Installation company. While working at Joju I’ve designed hundreds of solar installations, many of which are now merrily generating lots of clean, green and renewable energy. I’m keen to look at the whole house approach to energy use as well as generation. I’m training up as an Domestic Energy Assessor which has helped me formalise some of my knowledge about energy efficiency in the home.