Home Energy Saving

Why home energy saving matters

Home energy usage make up the largest proportion of our CO2 emissions in Great Bedwyn – 42% of all emissions. Most of this comes from the use of oil for heating. This means that reducing home energy usage and changing to renewable energy sources is a very important part of our efforts to reduce emissions overall. With the recent increases in energy costs it is also a good way to save money.

Our progress so far

We held a home energy event in the village hall in May 2022 which was well attended and received very positive feedback. We shared ideas on how to reduce energy usage and costs, from simple steps like draughtproofing, loft insulation and changing to energy efficient light bulbs, to more significant changes like adding wall insulation or installing a new heating system. We’ll also talked about how we can all work together on this and share knowledge going forward.

A Green Open Homes event in June 2022 offered visitors the chance to view and discuss a range of green technologies with house owners. These technologies ranged from internal wall insulation, solar hot water, solar electricity panels, home storage batteries, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and heat pumps.

We carried out 15 home surveys using an infrared heat camera. These surveys proved very popular and insightful to identify areas where home owners could improve insulation.

Plans for the future

We are continuing our efforts to support and encourage people to improve their homes energy efficiency. A second Green Open Homes event is planned for October 2023. Find out more here. We also plan to continue offering home heat surveys during the winter months.