The next regular meeting will be on Thursday 28th September 2023 at 16:30 – 18:00 (and every 4 weeks thereafter).
This will be the usual zoom, please contact me if you’d like to receive the link.
Here are some of the topics raised and discussed.
Energy group meetings, what are they about and who can attend:
We spent some time discussing how the Energy group meetings have evolved over the past 3.5 years. The main purpose of these meetings is to give everyone an opportunity to ask questions or discuss topics related to energy, the built environment and transport.
This is not the first time this topic has been discussed. Some of the suggestions to get different people involved include:
- In-person meetings, ideally at someone volunteers their home or place of work.
- Pre-select a topic to focus on.
- Vary the meeting times to include a 7pm start, keeping the same 4 week interval.
It would be good to hear from the 151 ACT members who have asked to receive information on these topics. Let me know what you think and what would interest you in either coming to one of these meetings or reading the notes that are sent out.
Devon Retrofit Guide:
We looked at the Devon Retrofit Guide which I’d mentioned in the last set of notes. This is well worth a brows if you are thinking of having any work done to your property. You can also register to get a residential assessment under the Energy Saving Devon scheme.
Practical list of actions added to the CFT:
We’ve now released the search/lookup for action you can take after completing your Carbon Footprint Tracker (CFT). At the meeting we explored some of these actions and how this is not just another general list. You can access the tool from the CFT ‘Results’ tab by clicking the highlighted “Possible Actions” which will open/highlight the text for this. There you will see “list of actions” which you can click to take you to the tool.
Have a go and send me your feedback.
More on heat pump case study:
There was more detail provided on the relative cost of this ‘typical’ heat pump installation. You can find out how financial costs compare to mains gas for this example here, see section 5.3 para starting “My running costs…”.
How Bad are Bananas!:
Some call it a ‘bible’, unsurprising given its sub-title “The Carbon Footprint of Everything”. We take it everywhere, most recently to our stall at the Newton Abbot Fayre. This second edition has been updated to reflect the latest data available. It also now has a clear intro to how our behaviour contributes to climate change and, at the end of the book, what we can do about it.
The CFT uses very similar data sources and methodology. As an on-line tool, the CFT is updated annually and reflects your emissions rather than average national/international ones. You can also lookup emissions for specific food/goods/services by using the tool provided in the help panel for these categories.
A 3-D printed wind turbine:
Jules explained his interest in building a small wind turbine using 3D printing. Please contact Jules if you want to find out more.
Best wishes
Fuad
Coordinator for the ACT Energy group
covering energy, built environment and transport
Leave a Reply