Energy efficiency group
This group is no longer active and is kept here just as an archive.
The Peckham Power Energy Efficiency working group is primarily focussed on:
- improving insulation and draft-proofing of existing buildings
- energy efficient lighting
We aim to meet once a month.
Current status: we can come up with loads of ideas for actions we could do and we are in the process of prioritising.
The Energy Efficiency working group co-ordinator is Jack.
Please click here to go to the Energy Efficiency wiki (for meeting agendas and minutes and notes about energy efficiency etc)
Recent posts in this group:
Our first Draft Busting Saturday was great! (blog post)
Last Saturday (26th Oct) Peckham Power held its first "Draft Busting Saturday" at Anna's house. Over the course of a few hours, we draft proofed all the single-glazed sash windows and the front door. Folks popped along to have a look and to buy draft proofing materials at very low cost. We ate cake and met some more of our neighbours.
Draft proofing is the most cost effective way to reduce the energy consumption of the old Victorian houses which are typical in Peckham.
We're hoping to have another draft busting event in the near future.
Draft Proofing photos (blog post)
Hi folks,
On Saturday a few of us spent an hour getting to know the draft proofing materials that we're hoping to use in our Peckham Power Draft-Busting days.
We're planning our first draft-busting training session on Thursday 2nd July 2009 and then we'll aim to run monthly draft-busting events on Saturday afternoons. Hurray!
Draft Busting project (forum post)
Dear All,
Just a quick note to say that Anna and I are keen to get a draft-busting project running soon (as well as several other projects!)
Whilst it's true that draft-busting isn't particularly sexy or ground-breaking it does significantly reduce heat loss from old buildings and it is also very apt for a community organisation. It should also be quite an easy "first project" to demonstrate that Peckham Power actually does stuff! The proposal is that we'd copy Hyde Farm Carbon Action Network's excellent "Draft Busting Saturdays". I'll briefly describe the "Draft Busting Saturday":
The event is held about once a month. Each event is held at a different home. Demonstrations are run in the house (e.g. "how to attach draft proofing to a sash window" or "how to draft proof a front door"). Materials are sold in handy kits. Printed instructions are displayed. People eat cake and drink tea. The events are advertised through email, the web and by leaflet-dropping the local streets. Large, friendly signs are displayed outside the location. Several volunteers are on hand to help out with the cash flow and packaging of the materials.
The materials are sourced directly from the supplier (GTi insulations) and the supplier also ran some training for a small number of people from Hyde Farm CAN. The matterials are of a higher quality than can be found in most large DIY shops and are supplied at a lower cost.
At the moment, I'm about to contact GTi to ask about the training sessions.
Please do let me know if you have any ideas about the Draft Busting project or if you'd like to help out with the organising.
Thanks,
Jack
Read the rest of this postEarth Hour 2009 (event post)
Join people from 1,760 cities, towns and municipalities in 80 countries that have already committed to Earth Hour 2009 by switching your light off for one hour
Read the rest of this postEnergy Efficiency Update: Smart Meters and IR Thermography (newsletter post)
Dear Peckham Power Energy Efficiency group,
The Newsletter that was sent last night become corrupted so I'm sending it again! Apologies!
I hope you're enjoying the sun! Just a quick update:
Firstly, if you haven't done so already then please do comment on the proposal that Peckham Power should ask Southwark Council for an infrared camera for surveying social housing stock. Is IR Thermography a suitable project for Peckham Power? Is it worthwhile? The debate is here:
Read the rest of this postProposal that Peckham Power should do IR Thermography (forum post)
The Energy Efficiency group had our second meeting on Thursday 12.03.09. At that meeting, Hal-Luke made a persuasive argument that Peckham Power should get involved in the business of Infrared Thermography. What is Infrared Thermography? It's the use of a camera which can see infrared radiation and hence can quickly determine where heat is leaking from a property. Here is a photo from WikiPedia showing a normal house in the background and a Passivhaus in the foreground:
Hal-Luke's idea is that Peckham Power should ask Southwark Council for the funds to buy an IR camera so that Southwark can commission Peckham Power to undertake IR surveys of social housing stock. The performance of housing stock which has been insulated (e.g. with cavity wall insulation or with solid-wall insulation) can be checked with the IR images and if the insulation proves to be faulty then claims can be made against the guarantees supplied with the installation. There is evidence that many insulation installations do not perform as well as they are supposed to (e.g. large gaps in cavity fills). With luck, the IR images will help to ensure that all the insulation installed in the borough performs well, hence reducing energy consumption and improving comfort for occupiers.
Is IR Thermography a suitable project for Peckham Power to take on? Are there lower hanging fruit (e.g. draft-proofing) that we should address first? Is IR Thermography sufficiently community orientated for Peckham Power? Voice your opinion in this forum thread!
Read the rest of this postSmart Meters, Cleaner Greener Safer & DECC (forum post)
Dear all,
I have just been reminded that CGS programme applications close tomorrow! Sorry to be so badly behind the curve with this. Too many balls in the air as usual.
It would be great to have at least one PP- supported scheme in this round. Applications must relate to capital projects with community benefit, and a realistic budget for an individual application is generally around the £10-15k mark.
The web link is http://www.southwark.gov.uk/cleanergreenersafer .
Read the rest of this post
Southwark Housing Stock Condition information (wiki post)
What proportion of houses in the UK have solid walls? The most recent English House Condition Survey (2006 data) they quote 31%, but bear in mind that this is across all tenures and includes social rented stock, which will predominantly be of more recent, probably cavity wall construction. In absolute terms, about 7 million homes have solid walls in the UK.
In the English House Condition Survey they breakdown solid walls across tenures for the UK as:
Read the rest of this postEnergy Efficiency meeting 02 (event post)
8pm at Jack Kelly's House on Bellenden Road (PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE AND TIME!)
We can collaboratively write the agenda on the new peckhampower.org website:
http://peckhampower.org/wiki/energy-efficiency-meeting-02-agenda
If you create an account on the website then you can edit the agenda.
energy efficiency meeting 02 agenda (wiki post)
- Department of Energy and Climate Change's Heat and Energy Saving Strategy consultation
- Running a draft-proofing series of events, similar to Hyde Farm CAN
Visit to Hyde Farm CAN's Draft-Busting Saturday (blog post)
I went to Hyde Farm CAN's "Draft-Busting Saturday" today. I learnt LOADS. Hyde Farm CAN are really doing some fantastic work. I'll write much more about what I learnt at today's event soon.
For now, I just want to comment on this:
Options for solid wall insulation? (forum post)
Hi,
I wondered if I could pick your brains for a moment on solid wall insulation… It would be good to have a ball park figure for internal and / or external measures. Energy Saving Trust estimate £42 per m2 for internal, but I think they are looking at the cheapest end of the market. We’d probably want something higher spec.
Thanks,
Jessica
I start work on insulating my floor this week (forum post)
Dear Peckham Power folks,
Read the rest of this post
Snow on Roofs (blog post)
Some photos of roofs taken in early Feb 2009 illustrating that some roofs are clearly not as well insulated as others! Our aim is to make sure as many roofs are well insulated as possible. Many thanks to Carl for taking the photos.
Climate Act requires all homes built after 1917 to go zero carbon (forum post)
Very interesting (and brief) blog post. It concisely illustrates the magnitude of the challenge of reducing emissions associated with existing housing stock:
http://carbonlimited.org/2009/02/02/climate-act-requires-all-homes-built-after-1917-to-go-zero-carbon/
Here's the important graph from the blog post:
List of suppliers and installers (wiki post)
Green building services
- Parity Projects (based in Surrey; 30 mins train ride from Peckham)
Suppliers of Insulation
Cheap "seconds"
- http://seconds.co.uk/ ~£40 for delivery to Peckham
- http://www.aandainsulationservices.com/ ~£30 for delivery to Peckham Read the rest of this post
List of project ideas for Peckham Power (wiki post)
General
- Setup a monthly, regular "green drinks", possibly for all of SE London.
Solar PhotoVoltaic
- Collaborate with ProClime
Solar thermal
Read the rest of this post
Questions about insulation and draft proofing (forum post)
OK. Here's something worth exploring. If you have a solid wall house and have minimised draughts as much as possible, installed double (or secondary glazing), radiator panels and keep the doors to rooms closed...how much heat can you retain in the house? What would change if you used insulating paint? Oh and have you sealed your floorboards...and if you do all this, how does the house breathe? And of course - a relative concept - how cold is cold?Read the rest of this post
What insulation measures for solid walled houses? (forum post)
I’d be interested to know what kind of insulation measures you are looking at for solid walled houses. There are a range of products on the market, of different levels of effectiveness and cost. Unfortunately, treating this type of wall is much more difficult than injecting insulation into an un-insulated cavity wall. Interior insulation is going to require re-decoration and likely loss of internal area; exterior insulation is highly costly, requires scaffolding and isn’t suitable in conservation areas for example.Read the rest of this post
