Little Wenlock C Red
Little Wenlock Carbon Reduction Action Group Newsletter
(Aiming to reduce our carbon emissions)
Newsletter 22
Together we can make a difference
Orchard Close Bungalows save money in Freezing Temperatures
All eight bungalows in Orchard Close have had Air to Water Heat Pumps fitted by the Wrekin Housing Trust. After a few hiccups with faulty controls that caused problems for one or two, they are now performing well, giving good levels of heat and plenty of hot water, all for a lot less money than the previous storage heaters.
Looking like an air-conditioning unit (and doing basically what an air-conditioner or fridge does, but in reverse) these Mitsubishi 5kW Air to Water Heat Pumps are capable of extracting heat from the outdoor air at temperatures down to minus 150C and putting it into radiators and hot water tanks to achieve indoor temperatures of up to 25C or more and “more than enough hot water” according to Lil & Joe.
Indoors there are new radiators to replace the aging storage heaters and a programmer in the airing cupboard, just like any other central heating system.
Savings
Residents were told that they could expect to make savings of around a third on their electricity bills, and as they were previously using Economy 7 meters to get a cheap rate overnight that are no longer appropriate, may have been hard to believe. But the proof… Lil & Joe have prepayment meters, and remember that they were paying over £40 a week last February, but are only paying £15 - £20 a week now. Others pay by direct debit so will be awaiting a reduction and possible refund once their power companies have made adjustments, whilst Dorothy says “I’ve no need to be afraid of my electricity bills”.
More information & grants, go to www.lowcarbonbuildings.org and follow links to Heat Pumps.
Goodbye to the turbine
February has seen the removal of the roof top wind turbine at Wilderness. Regrettably these first generation domestic turbines have not performed as well as was hoped, leading to B&Q offering full refunds. Howard & Hilary decided to take the money to hopefully re-invest in a solar hot water panel later this year, but have no regrets.
Howard says “It generated a small amount of electricity (around 10-12%) and a large amount of interest: we now buy our wind energy from green electricity supplier Ecotricity”.
Whilst these low level turbines can do far better where there is ‘clean’ wind – that not disturbed by houses and trees, these conditions are only to be found in a few edges of village or town locations and in isolated rural areas.
Next meeting: to be announced when we have a pub!
