Home energy efficiency grants re-starting soon

The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (worth up to £7,600) was launched in June and axed just 6 weeks later due to popular demand.

However, it has been announced today that the grant scheme will re-open before the end of November, with an additional £100million in the pot. So if you missed out last time, it's time to check it out again.

Update: Phase 2 of the grant scheme started in December 2014. Phase 3 is expected in March 2015.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/an-additional-100-million-for-household-energy-efficiency

Whether the grant is as generous as previously (for example, offering up to £6,000 and later up to £4,000 towards the cost of External Wall Insulation), remains to be seen.

If you are considering various options to make your home warmer or to cut the energy bills, it is a very good idea to do your research and think it all through carefully. Maybe get some quotes. Then if the grant scheme does start up again, you are poised and ready to see whether it will help  you, and if so, to make the most of it!

There is a handy report about energy saving options from zero cost to high cost on this site, co-written by me and an architect who specialises in low energy buildings including refurbishments. Just go to the "HOBBS Report" on the second tab - it is free to download.

If you live in or near to West Bridgford, then there's local help at hand. With our Transition West Bridgford thermal imaging camera, we can now show you where heat is escaping from your home!

Tina (tinaholt@ecohousenet.co.uk / 07962 453037) uses the camera as part of a whole house assessment to highlight energy saving options which might be suitable in your home.

Open Homes, Thermal Images and Cake!

It's been a busy couple of months!

The Open Homes days in May are now over but if you missed out and would like to join the waiting list for next time, just email wbecohouses@gmail.com. (Scroll down to find a summary of each home which opened its doors this May.)

Visitors and householders alike enjoyed the days, with some people just visiting out of curiosity and others taking notes and picking up tips for their own homes.

And then, we celebrated the end of the Thermal Imaging Camera pilot project with a bit of a gathering and some cake. The cake was so great we just had to put a couple of pics here. (If you have seen thermal images of any houses from the outside, you'll like this cake!) It also tasted fantastic - not just a pretty cake!

(If you'd like to receive an email when we start up the thermal imaging surveys again in the autumn, email tinaholt@ecohousenet.co.uk and ask to join the waiting list.)

Open Homes May 2014 - This year's theme - seeing heat loss!

This year, we have 7 great open homes and a new display.

Details of the 7 homes are in the preceding posts (below). And they are pretty diverse, including two homes that will be "mid-refurb", some extreme refurbs, 2 new builds and a cavity wall insulated house that has cut its energy bills in half with very moderate energy and cost saving measures.

Our theme this year is "seeing heat loss" - because we have been out and about with a thermal imaging camera. We'll have displays up in each home showing good and bad examples of the places where our homes typically lose heat.

For most of the homes open this year it is necessary to book your place - details are in each post below. This keeps numbers manageable and gives you a better chance to see and hear everything!

We send out directions and other useful information (e.g. bus routes, parking etc) to those who book a place, and if for any reason a tour has to be cancelled or rearranged, we can notify you if we have your contact details.

Read on, book on, and I hope you find this year's Open Homes enjoyable and useful!

Open Homes May 2014 - House number 7 of 7

Last but by no means least on this May's open homes list is a 1980's cavity wall insulated house.

It may not sound a likely candidate for a low energy home, and certainly this is not as low energy as the other 6 homes in previous posts. However, when the current owner bought this house, it had an energy rating of F!! Basic improvements (e.g. loft and cavity insulation, draught-proofing and a new gas boiler) along with common sense habits have cut the bills to around half!

There is no need to book to visit this one - just drop by any time between 11am and 3pm on Saturday 10th May and head for the gazebo in the front garden (the left branch of Worwood Drive in Compton Acres, West Bridgford).

Like the other homes open this year, there will be a thermal imaging display to show good and bad examples of the places where draughts and cold spots are typically found in our homes. The home owner (a qualified building surveyor) will be on hand to talk about DIY solutions.

If only we could see the heat escaping from our homes....

Well, you can of course see heat escaping from a house using a thermal imaging camera. Taking photos inside the house shows the cold spots where the cold gets in (i.e. heat is lost). From the outside, you see hot spots where escaping heat emerges.

In December 2013, Transition West Bridgford put in a bid for funding to buy a thermal imaging camera and now we are ready to use it!!

If you live in or around West Bridgford and think you might be interested in a thermal imaging survey of your home, get your name on the waiting list here. There's no obligation - this is just so we can contact those who are likely to be interested in a home survey or a community event showing the typical areas of heat loss.

We hope to carry out the visits in March (before the weather gets too warm).

For the full details, here's the press release:

E.ON’s Energy Action Fund powers Transition West Bridgford’s energy education

Community group, Transition West Bridgford, has been awarded a grant of £1,790 from energy company E.ON to promote energy efficiency across the local area.

The grant from E.ON will enable the organisation to purchase a thermal imaging camera, which will be used in free educational events for local residents. These workshops will help residents to understand how energy is commonly lost in the home and subsequently how this can be reduced, potentially resulting in lower energy bills.

Images from the camera will also be used in educational materials and online to raise as much awareness as possible across West Bridgford with the wider community.

  

The E.ON Energy Action Fund is part of the company’s commitment to helping local communities use no more energy than they need, benefitting both individual groups and the wider community.

 

Jake Jackson, Treasurer at Transition West Bridgford, said: “The funding received from E.ON will have a positive impact on the local community. The camera will not only be used to support educational events and materials, but also to carry out paid thermal imaging surveys for individuals and businesses.

“The funding raised through these surveys will provide long term support to Transition West Bridgford, enabling us to continue running the awareness raising events.”

Amy Cross, Senior Community Relations Executive at E.ON, said: “We’re really keen to support this project as it has the potential to educate many people across the community and the initial funding will help this to continue. We hope this will make a big difference to local people.”

For further information about Transition West Bridgford’s forthcoming Energy Saving Event or to find out more about the thermal imaging surveys, email wbecohouses@gmail.co.uk or visit http://transitionwb.blogspot.co.uk/. To find out more about how E.ON can help you save energy visit eonenergy.com/savingenergy.

Lots going on in March

Transition West Bridgford's Eco House team have had a busy winter helping people towards saving energy...

We organised a dozen thermal imaging surveys carried out by David Hill of Carbon Legacy - which were very illuminating judging by the comments from householders who now see their homes in a new light! Seeing where the cold comes in and the heat goes out can be quite informative!

Volunteers in the group have been helping to write and circulate information about a local offer of free Green Deal Assessments to householders who may have high gas bills if they live in a large or hard-to-insulate house with an inefficient gas boiler (see details on an earlier post).
     
Some of the team will be helping out on the Energy Bus in West Bridgford's Central Avenue on Saturday morning (9th March) from 9.30am until 2.30pm. Come along and have a chat, particularly if you or someone you know would like a free assessment - available only in March so you'll need to be quick!

Three homes in West Bridgford held an open homes day on 3rd March as part of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Ecohomes Open Week, attracting about 50 visitors in total.

And if you missed out on those visits, the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Ecohomes Open Week is not yet over - click here for other open houses.

Later in 16-24 March, it is National SuperHomes open week, when some of Nottinghamshire's Superhomes will open their doors again - click here to find a SuperHome open day near you.