Tag: energy crisis

VCSE organisations – do you qualify for a free energy saving assessment?

Posted on by Phil Beardmore
charity woman working in co-working area

 

 

If you manage a voluntary, community or social enterprise building you might qualify for a free energy saving assessment.

I am one of the expert advisors on the VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme, funded by central government, for organisations in the East and West Midlands.

If you qualify for the scheme you can choose me to carry out your energy assessment.

Please contact me for an initial discussion.

You can find out here if you meet the eligibility criteria here.  If you don’t qualify for a free assessment, then contact me for a bespoke quote.  

 

£31m energy saving funding for charities announced – how will you spend yours?

Posted on by Phil Beardmore
charity energy grants

Energy confidence

 

Third Sector magazine has announced that £31 million in dormant assets will be released to charities to fund energy saving measures.

If you are a charity, I can help you decide where to start with making best use of this funding.

I give honest, practical, jargon-free advice to:

  • Charities
  • Social Enterprises
  • Cooperatives

In all building types including:

  • Offices
  • Theatres
  • Libraries
  • Swimming baths
  • Leisure Centres
  • Co-working spaces
  • Educational establishments
  • Churches, mosques, synagogues, mandirs, gurdwaras, Quaker meetings

and many more.

My recent clients include:

  • Jericho Foundation
  • Moseley Community Development Trust
  • Rep Theatre
  • Moseley Road Baths
  • Plus dozens of places of worship.

I can give you energy and environmental advice across all aspects of your operations including:

  • Energy efficiency
  • Renewable energy including solar, heat pumps
  • Water saving
  • Your “scope 3” emissions such as procurement, transport, waste
  • Monitoring your progress so you can prove your impact.

 

Working with me will give you:

  • Clarity on where to begin
  • Confidence that you are taking the right actions for your building
  • Cost-effective use of your money and resources
  • Carbon savings by implementing the right measures and monitoring their effectiveness.

 

Contact me now to discuss how I can help you show your community, your funders and donors that you are ethical and sustainable.

 

 

learn more

 

https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charities-31m-release-dormant-assets/finance/article/1815422 

Innovative ways to heat a place of worship

Posted on by Phil Beardmore
thermal image of heat loss from a church

 

Energy confidence

 

Many places of worship are difficult and expensive to keep warm, especially if they are used only intermittently.  Plus heating the worship space is often the biggest single source of greenhouse gas emissions from a church, mosque, mandir, synagogue or gurdwara.

Often I give advice to places of worship who have old heating systems that are based on wet radiators; they are suitable for a home but not for a place of worship with high ceilings, because they don’t get heat where it’s needed.  So the congregation complain of being cold during the winter.  

Sometimes it’s best to consider whether the congregation can move to another space that is easier to heat.  But this isn’t always possible or desirable.

One solution is to heat the person as well as the space.

Some efficient ways of heating the person are:

  • Under-pew heating – this is like a low-temperature electric blanket that goes under fixed pews, and heats the person from below
  • Rechargeable chair cushion heaters, that heat the person where there are individual chairs instead of fixed pews (if you have access to solar panels – either onsite, or offsite, or a solar charger, then you can potentially use solar energy to charge the heaters, as cushion heaters are low-temperature and don’t need much power).  
  • Infra-red heaters.

You should continue to heat the space as well as the person.  If you heat the person, then you need less heat for the space.  If you eliminate space heating altogether, then this can lead to problems with condensation and damp, and cause damage to the building fabric.  It can also cause circulation problems in a wet central heating system if you have short bursts of on/off.

The first video below is a case study from a church that uses rechargeable heaters.

 

 

The second video below is a case study from a church that uses under-pew heating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you need impartial expert energy saving advice for your place of worship, business or home, please contact me.

Learn more

Tonight I visited Maggie and Dave ahead of the next Birmingham Green Doors event – I love how cosy they have made their home

Posted on by Phil Beardmore

 

Maggie and Dave are hosting our next Birmingham Green Doors event on 4 March 2023.

 

 

 

I have been there before to give them energy advice, but tonight was the first time I have been back since their green home makeover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many features and benefits I could list but what struck me most was that it was evenly and consistently warm and comfortable throughout.

 

There are lots of measurements, thermal images, spreadsheets that could prove the carbon impact of what they’ve done. But you need to feel the comfort with your own five senses. This is an early 20th Century Edwardian terrace. They are notoriously leaky and draughty. If you move from one room to another you notice the difference. But not in Maggie and Dave’s house. On a cold January evening, the whole house is warm as toast.

At Maggie and Dave’s open house event on 4 March you will learn about:

  • How wall insulation has not only reduced heat loss, but improved airtightness, whose role in making a house warm or cold is often overlooked
  • The heat pump installer has done their job properly – they have designed flow rates, flow temperatures, and radiator sizing to ensure a steady background heat; with heating controls that are easy to use
  • How they have dealt with heat loss from the extremities of the house, such as the bay window
  • For those who like figures, you will be able to learn how much energy and carbon has been saved
  • Why you need to add ventilation when insulating a home – and how to do it
  • How Maggie and Dave chose and supervised the right contractors for the job

 

Who should attend?
  • People who are interested in making their home more energy efficient
  • Professionals working in housing and energy who are interested in warm, green homes
  • Community workers who want to help residents save energy
  • Students, teachers and academics interested in decarbonisation.

 

BOOK NOW!  Three time slots available.  Near Erdington train station, bus routes.

 

Can Starmer’s Great British Energy plan work?

Posted on by Phil Beardmore
wind farm

 

Energy confidence

 

 

At the recent Labour Party conference, Sir Keir  Starmer announced that that the party would create a publicly-owned energy generation company, Great British Energy.

We look forward to further announcements but it looks like Great British Energy will:

  • -raise funds from private sources including crowdfunding/bonds for renewable energy projects
  • sell the electricity to energy retailers.

More renewable energy such as large-scale wind, solar, wave, tidal energy, is to be welcomed, along with electricity storage and smart grids, is to be welcomed.  It is a step forward in making progress towards net zero.  Energy generation that is owned by the people is not a new idea – I first came across the idea in 2001 and was a founder member of Community Energy Birmingham in 2011 – but until now it has not become mainstream.  This is an opportunity for consumers to own much of our generation and storage of electricity.

Renewable electricity is cheaper than fossil fuel and nuclear electricity.  But the retail cost of electricity to householders and businesses won’t go down while retail prices are linked to gas prices.  There needs to be market reform for this to happen in a way that benefits all energy consumers.  In the meantime innovative ways are available for renewable generators to pass on the cost savings of renewable energy to consumers – as Ripple Energy have done through their partnership with Octopus Energy, where members of the Ripple Energy cooperative (such as me), see a discount on their electricity bill with Octopus Energy.  The Labour Party needs to follow through the good idea of Great British Energy with some innovative thinking over the coming months, to get the most out of the model for consumers and the environment.

In addition to renewable energy, we need to make all homes and businesses more energy efficient.  If you would like impartial advice on energy saving in your home or business, then please check out my energy advice packages.  If you have an idea for an energy saving or renewable energy project, please contact me for a discussion.  

If you want to learn from people who have already made their home more energy efficient, then book now for the next Birmingham Green Doors study visit on 15th October. 

Liz Truss’ price policy – you have a two-year window to take long-term actions to protect your home or business from future price rises

Posted on by Phil Beardmore
people thinking about bills

 

 

Energy confidence

 

Liz Truss’ policy on energy pricing will be a relief to many householders and businesses.  But it’s not a long-term answer to the energy crisis.  Only energy efficiency and renewable energy can save us from the triple dilemma of climate change, affordability, and energy security.

If energy prices are capped for a period, what this does is create a short window of opportunity for you to take action in your home or business that will give you long-term protection.

You have a short time to act and there are no quick fixes.

If you don’t know where to start, or what to do next, then my energy advice packages for householders and businesses can give you expert impartial advice.  I can help you to make informed decisions that mean that you can save energy in your home or business with confidence.  

YOUR GREEN BUSINESS

Consumers want to buy off businesses that are ethical and sustainable.  Tell me what makes your business great, and we will work together to make it greener and more profitable.

 

  • Expert advice on decarbonising your business
  • Independent and impartial 
  • What are the right measures for you?
  • Site visits, video meetings, thermal imaging
  • Energy saving and renewable energy
  • Energy procurement
  • Monitoring and reporting
  • Payment by instalments available

 

 

 

 

 

 

learn more

 

 

 

 

  • Energy saving expert advice
  • Independent and impartial 
  • Tell me about your home 
  • What are the right measures for you?
  • Site visits, Zoom meetings, thermal imaging
  • Payment by instalments available

 

YOUR GREEN HOME

Do you want to make your home greener but don’t know where to start?  Maybe you are thinking about insulation or a heat pump?  Book one of my energy saving advice packages  for independent and impartial advice on how to make your home greener.  I help you to make big decisions about the energy efficiency of your home in a psychologically safe space.

 

Update September 2022 – I now have some appointments available for householders from November  – if you can’t find a suitable date then please sign up to my mailing list and I will keep you informed.

  • Site visitswill be undertaken in accordance with sensible social distancing precautions.
  • Thermal imaging is available depending on the time of year – November-April is best for thermal imaging – if you book outside of these times then I will come back in the winter to do thermal imaging for you.

 

learn more

Are you ready to be energy confident?

We face a Climate Emergency – you can make a difference

 

 

 

Phil with laptop

 

 

 

 

“What do you want to do about climate change?”

YOU’RE READY TO TAKE ACTION.

 

You’re here because you know that government and big business should do more, but you don’t want to wait for them.  You’re committed to do whatever you can.

What will you do next?  What help do you need from me?

Tell me about your home or your business, and I will advise you on a whole-building plan, looking at all the fabric of the building and its appliances.  I will show you how the ways people live, work, sleep, relax, wash, cook and eat in your building cause it to waste energy and water.  I will show you the right things you can do for your home, your family or co-workers, and for the planet.  I will also tell you if you’re doing any of the wrong things, and show you how to make changes.  

 

Working with me will give you:

  • Clarity on where to begin
  • Confidence that you are taking the right actions for your building
  • Cost-effective use of your money and resources
  • Carbon savings by implementing the right measures and monitoring their effectiveness.

Contact me now and let’s get you energy confident.“

Phil Beardmore FRSA AIEMA, Low Carbon Coach and Founder, Energy Confidence 

 

Learn more