In January 2024 the village hall conducted a project with Low Carbon Dorset organisation which aimed to cut the expenditure of electric and to improve our green credentials. 30 solar panels have been installed together with battery storage. LEDs are now lighting the corridors and toilet areas together with PIR occupancy controls. Insulation has been massively improved in the loft space.
Low Carbon Dorset (https://www.lowcarbondorset.org.uk/) have been great at providing Free energy saving advice and we have been working with them on matching grant funding. Low Carbon Dorset was set up by Dorset Council and is part-funded by the UK Government. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.
The solar panels have only been running for 5 days and even in cold January we have already saved over 100kg of CO2. It is expected that our electric bill will reduce by about 70% or a saving of about £4500 per year. We hope that we will be reducing CO2 output by over 3 tons per year.
The project used three local companies which deserve a mention and can be highly recommended:
Insulation – LoftForce (https://www.loftforce.co.uk/)
Solar – Save Energy UK (https://saveenergyuk.co.uk/)
LED lighting – local electrician Tom Fuller
