Environmentally conscious classic car restoration

As a forward-looking and environmentally aware company, we are always keen to reduce our impact wherever possible. Our new workshop facility has given us an opportunity to take major steps towards becoming carbon neutral and reducing our energy usage. In fact, as an industry one could argue that we epitomise the spirit of repairing, reusing and recycling so before we go on to share the environmental features of our new workshop we would like to touch on the environmental impact of the industry as a whole.
It is often not understood that classic cars are relatively low emitters of CO2. Our friends at the HCVA (Historic and Classic Vehicle Alliance) have done much work to promote awareness of this subject and continue to work to help the classic car industry reach net zero. Although the engine of a classic car is not as efficient as a modern engine most classic cover relatively few miles each year. On average classic cars travel around 1,200 miles per year compared to the UK average of 7,200. Perhaps a surprise to all but experts suggest that classic cars produce less than half the amount of CO2 a computer or mobile phone produces per year. Indeed, most of the emissions from a car come from its production so the longer a car can be kept on the road the better.
We do not believe that simply continuing as we always have is enough in light of growing concerns over the climate and our future energy security. As such we have invested significantly to make our new workshop energy efficient. As a starting point, our new building is properly insulated from floor to ceiling. We have taken the opportunity to fit a large array of solar panels to the roof which will produce much of our electricity and feedback to the grid when we are not here and working. We chose not to install battery storage as we will be here using much of the energy produced during the day. We are not using any gas appliances in the building so all our heating and hot water is provided by electricity, much of which we generate ourselves. Another advantage of our new heating system is that the ‘air to air’ air source heat pump system (air conditioning) also provides cooling and acts as a dehumidifier throughout the building. The best environment for a classic car.
Beyond the design of our new workshop, we are working hard to reduce our impact in a multitude of ways. From the most basic things such as the bulk disposal of materials such as waste oil to working towards making classic cars even greener by fitting upgrades such as catalytic converters. We will continue this work with our partners across the industry to promote a green future for classic cars.