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How do we put these stories on screen?

Entertaining audiences when it comes to climate can be a challenge, and it’s not always going to make sense for your programme to address or include the content outlined in this handbook. No one is expecting to see solar panels suddenly gracing the roof of the Bridgerton family mansion!

The goal is to arm ourselves with the most up to date information about the climate crisis and home decarbonisation, and to be creative when it comes to communicating ideas around sustainable living – and the accompanying human stories – to our audiences.

Progress doesn’t happen overnight but it’s about doing what we can, where it makes sense, with the knowledge and tools available to us.

How have we shown
decarbonised homes to date?

  • UNRELATABLE

    ‘Homes of the future’ are frequently portrayed on screen as cold, high-tech, automated spaces that don’t look much like the homes the majority of our audiences live in.

  • ALIENATING​ & LACKING DIVERSITY

    Some examples of decarbonised homes, and depictions of the road to decarbonisation, have alienated audiences through fear-mongering, guilt-tripping, blaming, preaching or lacking diverse residents.

    Decarbonised homes should be for everyone! ​

  • UNACHIEVABLE

    Modern, decarbonised homes are often associated with wealth and affluence, resulting in many audiences disengaging with the subject of decarbonisation as it feels irrelevant – and impossible – to them.​

The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe, and most likely in the world. This is largely due to the legacy of dwellings built during the Industrial Revolution, which still form the backbone of our urban areas today.

While still widely valued, these homes present challenges in making them healthy, safe and suitable for the future. This is why retrofitting has such an important role to play in the greener homes transition.

Many of the homes of 2050 won’t look futuristic or space-aged – they’ll look the same as they do now but with subtle changes making them: 

Cleaner

Replacing fossil fuel power plants, gas and oil boilers and gas hobs with renewable electricity generation and low carbon heating alternatives will result in a cleaner society, with fewer pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, dust and soot.

Smarter

Internet-connected devices to enable the remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems, such as lighting and heating will make running your home easier and more efficient.

Cheaper

We know the cheapest way of producing electricity is with wind turbines and solar panels. This means a future with 100% renewable electricity could be cheaper for everyone. However, government policy currently ties the price of electricity to the price of gas, which makes electricity more expensive than it should be. This will need to change if we want to guarantee cheap electricity for everyone.

Healthier

Fossil fuel power plants, gas and oil boilers and gas hobs all create air pollution as well as carbon emissions. Replacing these with renewable electricity generation and low carbon alternatives will lead to cleaner air inside and outside the house, reducing the risk of respiratory illnesses.  

Greener

Last but not least, our homes will be greener! But when talking about the homes of the future, we may do better talking about all the other co-benefits rather than the eco-benefits.  

Crucially, the homes of the future should be for everyone.