Promotion of Energy Efficiency
The Climate Challenge Fund has granted financial support to provide tools and training for volunteer led household energy challenges promoting behavioural change and thus reducing energy consumption with the lasting legacy of a lower carbon emission figure for Tweeddale.
THE TWEEDGREEN HOME ENERGY CHALLENGE
Tweedgreen would like to help you to reduce your fuel bills, keep your home warm and also help you to lower your carbon emissions.
Following the successful SBC and EST/ Changeworks free home insulation scheme carried out in Peebles, Innerleithen and Walkerburn last winter Tweedgreen‘s Energy Team would like to invite you to take part in our energy (and money!) saving challenges.
Many of the households that were surveyed expressed an interest in having a free loan of an electricity monitor for their home. Rather than simply loan you a unit and let you get on with it; Tweedgreen has designed a series of challenges ranging from Easy through Moderate to Challenging that you can tackle over a three month period. By working through these challenges you will see meaningful results in energy savings as well as saving money on your fuel bills. Tweedgreen will install the monitor in your home and support you while you take part in the challenge. You will find out all about your electricity use, how much appliances cost to run and help you identify areas where cost savings can be made. Our challenges offer solutions as well as giving you tasks to carry out, these tasks should be fun – not onerous to do – we are actively recruiting a cross-section of households in Tweeddale to join in so you will not be doing this alone. You will get the opportunity to meet other participants at one of our walk-in energy clinics when Tweedgreen tours Tweeddale between September and November.
If you are interested in taking part in this challenge please contact the office on 01721 729258 or email [email protected]
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MONITORS
Eco-eye electricity monitors are easy to fit and allow you to see how much electricity you are using in your home. The monitors provide up to the second information on the amount of electricity you are using in terms of power, cost and your carbon footprint. This means you can see in real time the benefits of turning off electrical devices at home. Whether it’s turning off at the plug rather than just using standby, or simply turning off a light, the Eco-eye shows you the cash impact of changing your habits which could amount to savings of hundreds of pounds per year. We thoroughly recommend using them. It is fascinating to see how much individual appliances cost to run. You can use them to show your teenagers how much it costs to run their computers, X-boxes, music systems – even they may be surprised by the results. You can see how much it costs you every time you put on the kettle, washing machine, oven, hairdryer. By gaining this insight into the real costs of running your household appliances, you can regain some control over your monthly electricity bills. Try one. They become strangely compelling!
CAVITY WALL & LOFT INSULATION
Insulating your home is one of the easiest ways to stop wasting energy.
The advantages for you are:
– Lower energy bills. Cavity wall insulation can save around £110* a year and installing loft insulation can save around £145* a year.
– A cosier, more comfortable home.
– Knowing you are doing your bit for the environment.
*Based on a three bed semi-detached house with gas price of 3.67p/kWh. Loft saving assumes installing insulation in a previously un-insulated loft. If you already have 50mm of loft insulation, topping this up to 270mm can save £40 per year.
Tweedgreen will have demonstration models of different types and thicknesses of loft insulation at our touring clinics.
THE ENERGY ASSISTANCE PACKAGE
There could be help with fuel bills for households who:
- are identified as potentially eligible for the Energy Assistance Package
- find it difficult to heat their home
- are spending over 10% of their income on heating fuel.
If you know of anyone in these categories, they will be eligible for the free energy saving pack.
Anyone who has already benefited from Energy Assistance Package is also entitled to a pack. They would just need to contact the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre who can re-assess if they can benefit from any other EAP services at the same time.
How to get the pack:
Householders should contact the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre on 0800 512 012 or email [email protected]
If you are unable to access the advice line and would like assistance from Tweedgreen to contact the Energy Savings Trust, please contact us and we will endeavour to help you.
If you have no heating or if you need urgent help, these numbers might be useful:
National Gas Emergency Service Freephone: 0800 111 999
Gas Safe – online and telephone service for finding and checking registered engineers. www.gassaferegister.co.uk // Freephone 0800 408 5500
Scottish Gas – householders waiting for their heating to be installed through the Energy Assistance Package 0800 316 1651