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100% Heating Funding for Village Halls : Are you missing out?

22nd September 2008

There are nearly 9000 village halls in the UK calling out for reduced fuel bills; and there's a free solution. EcoVision Chief Executive Peter Randall investigates.

Major events are ten-a-penny when it comes to village halls – which have an ever present need to generate interest with the aim of raising the funds needed to keep a vital community resource alive. But what happened on September 13 at Randwick Village Hall, just north of Stroud, Gloucestershire could have significance way beyond this attractive corner of the Cotswolds. That is because on that day the facility reopened as what is believed to be the first carbon neutral village hall in the country, having installed a ground source heat pump and PV.

The people of Randwick managed what is a significant achievement with the help of a 50% Government grant from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 (LCBP), a funding stream open to a wide range of not-for-profit organisations. The funding was supplemented by Stroud District Council and the Gloucestershire Environmental Trust (using landfill tax contributions from Cory environmental).

This enabled them to install the full heat pump technology - costing £ 32,000 - for nothing.

That is highly significant for an organization operating within an environment where funds will always be tight. The substantial reduction in energy costs for the hall going forward might be a lifesaver for some such institutions – and at the very least it will free up much needed funds for other invaluable community projects. According to a report from the Carbon Trust Randwick Village Hall could make a saving of as much as 60% of its energy costs.

Sadly, not all not-for-profit organisations are likely to have access to such a supportive council as this particular village. But as of April this year there is a second source of funding available. Ecovision, which installed, designed and supplied Randwick’s ground source heat pump, is one of a very small number of UK companies that has been accredited under the Government’s Microgeneration Certification Scheme. It therefore has official approval to access the Community Sustainable Energy Programme (CSEP ) - an open grants programme run by BRE as an award partner of the Big Lottery Fund. This source of funding allows ALL not for profit organisations to have a ground source heat pump installed for free.

But, sadly, very few have recognized this and at present only 4 not for profit organisations have taken advantage of the scheme across the UK.

There are approximately 8,900 village halls in England and the people who use them regularly tend to be those without private transport. The people who cannot travel elsewhere to take advantage of larger facilities and tend to be at a relatively vulnerable stage of life, for example, older people and those with young families and children.

A technology that makes this sort of facility more economically viable therefore has real value. What is more, the grants are also available to any not for profit organization that helps these people, including hospices, scout clubs, sports halls, youth clubs etc.

Heat pumps are a mature proven technology that do not have the safety and maintenance costs associated with conventional heating systems.

The pumps simply tap into the freely available and inexhaustible solar energy stored in the earth.

The heat pump can provide all year round domestic heating and hot water with the same convenience and reliability as conventional heating systems.

Given that the local village hall is used by a wide variety of people, plaques have been installed near the entrance, explaining to everyone exactly what the heat pump is doing.

In Randwick’s case, the plaque shows the heat power currently being extracted from the earth, the total amount of energy extracted since commissioning in August 2008 and the equivalent savings in CO2 emissions.

Ecovision has recently been commissioned to install a ground source heat pump, using the full funding via CSEP & Low Carbon Buildings Programme, just down the road from Randwick in the village of Rendcomb.

Good for Rendcomb, but it remains a fact that many more village halls - and other organizations - should take advantage of this opportunity to mitigate their heating costs going forward.

It not only benefits the environment – it benefits their local communities directly with the energy savings gained – at a time when costs are rising sharply – helping to keep a vital community resource healthy and hale.

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