This event was held on 15th March at Cafe Camino St Mary’s RC Parish Church Hall. It was aimed at both home owners & community groups interested in how to cut fuel bills, carbon emissions & tackle fuel poverty. A report of the meeting can be found here.
Edinburgh tenements, can be made easier to heat with reduced fuel bills through installing new types of insulation and renewables. The event provided details of new funding The Green Deal and the results of practical projects and studies into energy efficiency.
Speakers includes:
- Sitar Ramsay: Community Energy update from around the City from Balerno to Portobello. Sitar_Ramsay_Community_Energy_Update
- Chas Booth: a Leith energy efficiency retrofit case study; Chas_Booth_Energy_efficiency_retrofit_of_a_Leith_colony_flat
- Alistair Cant (Lister Housing Co-op): Retrofitting Historic Tenements in Edinburgh; Alistair_Cant_Lister_Housing_Coop[efficiency] ; Alistair_Cant_Lister_Housing_Coop[renewables]
- Stuart Hay (Changeworks): Tenement Retrofit Challenge and the Green Deal; SHay_Can_tenements_be_energy_efficient?
- Wilson Shaw, Director of BCA Insultation: Insulation Options for Tenements; WShaw_BCA_Insulation_Options4Tenements
- Kim Harding from Spokes will speak on Bike storage for tenement dwellers; KimHarding_Tenement_Cycle_Parking
It’s unlikely to deliver major bill savings or CO2 reductions on buildings where gas is available. Unless gas gets a lot more expensive and electricity is maintained at the same prices and becomes low carbon, heat pumps will have limited application in an urban setting. Ultimately district heating solutions would be a better option but this is a long way off. Changeworks has looked at pilot ground source heat pump for tenements but funding and technical risks meant the project couldn’t proceed. Changeworks will be also reviewing evidence on whether heat pumps should be considered in the off-gas areas where there are costs extending the gas network. The Co-op will consider disseminating any findings to members
This was a really interesting meeting – I especially enjoyed the practical nature of many of the talks.
One question that there wasn’t time for me to ask: has anyone looked at the practicality of installing air-source heat pumps in Edinburgh tenements?