By Claire Simon

It may be old, but there’s nothing old-fashioned about Goodrich Village Hall. Thanks to recent installations of renewable technologies, the historic 126-year-old building can be preserved for future generations.

Built in 1884, Goodrich Village Hall was certainly showing its age: For a long time it had been leaking heat from every nook and cranny and racking up huge energy bills. Despite the heritage of the building and its role as a central point for the village, the costs of running it meant its future was uncertain – until Andrew Bartle stepped in to help change this.

When Andrew’s wife joined the village hall committee, his attention was swiftly drawn to the complaints of the building’s cold temperatures and the lengthy amount of time the rooms took to heat up. Realising that energy costs were a constant drain on the hall’s funds and that with the “volatile prices of fossil fuels, the rental costs for this community building would have to continuously rise over the years”, Andrew took matters into his own hands. In order to secure the hall for future generations he began researching grants available for energy efficiency and renewable technologies: “The aim of the project was to create a self-financing village hall in order to ease the potential burden for future trustees”.

However, like many of Good Energy’s microgenerators, Andrew became frustrated with the lack of one-stop-shop for energy efficiency and alternative energy grants. Fourteen months and lots of red tape later, he managed to secure eight grants for the hall. Although Andrew says that “anyone wanting to invest in alternative technologies must have some stamina” due to the paperwork involved, he is adamant that this should not deter people.

As with all old buildings, the village hall was not particularly energy efficient. In fact, around 10% of heat was being lost through the solid concrete floor, 15% through the 1970s un-insulated ceiling, over 20% through the 47 windows of the original building, and around 30% through the 12” walls of the main brick building. Unsurprisingly, insulation was the first thing on the list. Andrew secured £27,000 of funding through various grant programmes, which paid for an insulated suspended ceiling with energy saving lighting, argon double glazing, an insulated wooden floor, cavity wall and loft insulation. The importance of insulating the hall before installing new technologies is clear and highlights a fundamental Good Energy belief: For the UK to reach a 100% renewable future, it is imperative to change how energy is used as well as made.

With annual electricity bills reaching £1800 before the work on the hall began, a low cost energy system was the only feasible way to secure its future. Renewable technologies were the perfect way forward. Andrew secured £50,000 of funding from various programmes to install 3 Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Panels, 24 Solar PV panels and 2 Air Source Heat Pumps. The pumps alone are expected to reduce electricity consumption by around 50% over the year. But it is the synergy between the three technologies that has really secured the hall’s future. Heat from the pumps is fed into the upper section of a 400 litre Thermal Store in the loft, which is then distributed to the fan coil heaters. Solar Thermal panels are normally used to heat water, but instead the heat generated by the panels is fed into the lower portion of the Thermal Store, supplementing the heat generated by the pumps. The PV panels – which will generate around 3,456 kWh a year – supplement the power used by the Air Source Heat Pumps, reducing the amount of electricity drawn from the national grid to power them. All the technologies therefore directly reduce the building’s electricity usage and energy costs, with the remaining demand of electricity for the building supplied by Good Energy.
 
Andrew’s primary aim of reviving the village hall was financial. However, through dedicating so much of his time to the project, alternative technologies and energy efficiency have become part of his daily routine. He now sees the project as a way to educate and inform others about climate change and the importance of sustainability, stressing that “carbon reducing measures can enhance your life and your wallet”. However, it is the red tape which automatically comes with fairly large-scale energy projects that he sees as a deterrent to aspiring energy entrepreneurs. It is the dogged determination that Andrew has shown in his project that is needed from all of us if the UK is to reach a 100% renewable future.

Goodrich Village Hall is having and Eco Day on the 10th October where guests can find out more about the project and what help is available for them. Please email Andrew Bartle if you would like to know more: andrew.bartle@acorn-office.co.uk.