Can my old house go green? London An ill wind: David Cameron's wind turbine had to be removed.

Byline: ANDREW NEATHER

A GIANT fan is blowing air into my house. The front doorway and thefireplaces downstairs are sealed off with plastic sheeting. An engineerconsults a battery of instruments before testing for draughts with a "smokepen". Then he gets out a high-tech thermal imaging camera to take pictures ofwhere the house is leaking heat. Welcome to London's most thoroughand intimidating  green energy audit.

Having draught-proofed my house and put in low-energy lightbulbs, I want tofind out how much difference it has made. Those things and just switching offlights have already reduced my electricity bill by about 25 per cent.

But this green audit isn't just a case of engineers telling me where to put inextra insulation. The service is offered by Greenhomes, Britain's first "greenconcierge" service; if I want, it will do everything, from the audit toorganising a new energy-efficient boiler.

Greenhomes grew out of TenUK, a "lifestyle management" service for the veryrich. Intended for people too busy making money to pay the phone bill, hire adog-walker or get the drains fixed, TenUK will arrange for any of those thingsand many more. But what if you want to go green but are too rich to find thetime? It's a dilemma I find hard to relate to but, in theory, I suppose, youcould return from your hedge fund's offices one day to find your roof coveredin solar panels, a wind turbine merrily spinning away. Fortunately for thelikes of me, the service is currently available cheap thanks to a partnershipwith the London Development Agency.

And the verdict on my house? Disappointingly, I'm still at the bottom of band E(A being the most energy efficient and G the worst). The walls and roof get a"very poor" rating; only lightingall those energy-saving bulbs gets a "very good".

What's worse is that even if I replace the boiler and put in thermostaticvalves on the radiatorswhich would cost the best part of [pounds sterling]2,000Greenhomes calculates that it would improve my house's energy efficiency byjust six percentage points, leaving me still languishing in the E band. And itwould take at least 10 years for the improvements to pay for themselves. Inorder to scrape into band D I need to splash out another [pounds sterling]12,000-plus on doubleglazing, wall insulation and solar panels.

Which leaves me in the realm of green fantasy.

The problem is simply the materials that were used to build my Edwardian houseespecially the walls. "You're in the same boat as hundreds of thousands ofothers in London," says Greenhomes' Lori Grossman brightly.

Thanks. Old houses just aren't very green, it seems. I just hope David Camerongot a proper audit before he stuck that wind turbine on his roof..

HOW TO SAVE ON ENERGY www.greenhomeslondon.co.uk 0800 089 0098 The cost of theaudits starts at [pounds sterling]99.99 for the most basic, rising to [pounds sterling]199.99 for one withthermal imaging and other tests.

Available at these prices in London until the end of Augustthereafter the project will depend on a decision from the LDA. Costs do notinclude any home improvements you end up making.

The Energy Saving Trust This is the leading non-profit group dedicated toproviding information on all aspects of energy saving, from houses to cars. Itproduces lots of useful leaflets and information on different energy-savingoptions for your home. Its website also includes a calculator that will giveyou a tailored home-energy report suggesting improvements you could make andwhat you could save. Go to www.

energysaving trust.org. uk/proxy/ view/full/165/homeenergycheck The EST'sEnergy Efficiency Advice Centres, of which there are 10 in the London, providefree, impartial, practical advice on saving energy in your home.

They also do home visits. To find your nearest centre call: 0800 512012..