Haringey at the forefront of energy saving
Tuesday 24 April 2007
An aircraft fitted with military technology has enabled Haringey Council to become the first local authority in England to publish a detailed web study of energy loss from homes and businesses.
The council commissioned a plane fitted with a thermal infrared sensor to carry out the aerial thermographic study, giving information about heat loss from every property in Haringey.
The study, which is now available online at www.seeit.co.uk/haringey/Map.cfm has a range of benefits for the council and the Haringey community. These include:
- Residents and businesses can discover online how much energy they are losing. The council hopes this will encourage them to consider better insulation and other energy saving techniques, which in turn will contribute to Haringey's efforts to tackle climate change at a local level.
- It will help the council identify homes whose occupiers may be too poor to heat their homes or are suffering from broken heating. It can then offer them a range of free government-funded ‘Warm Front’ energy heating grants.
- The council will be able to investigate whether the properties losing least heat are empty and could be brought back into use, so helping to alleviate Haringey's housing waiting list.
Haringey Council's Executive Member for Housing, Cllr Isidoros Diakides, said:
"This single study will play a key role in helping us address three of the biggest issues currently facing Haringey - climate change, fuel poverty and housing waiting lists.
"We would urge those households which are shown to be losing excessive energy to consider installing better insulation and employing other energy saving techniques, which not only save money in fuel bills, but can also make a significant contribution to tackling climate change.
"At the same time, we will look at those properties shown to have low energy heat loss both to ensure that occupiers are receiving grants to which they are entitled and that empty homes are brought back into use wherever possible."
Notes for editors:
1. The study was conducted through an airplane flying at 1,500 feet above ground level, with the thermal sensor calibrated in flight to cover a heat loss range of 16 degrees Celsius. The cost of the study, including the construction of the website, was less than £21,000.
2. Applications for Warm Front grants can be made by residents claiming one of the following benefits: Working Tax credit, Child Tax credit, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, War Disablement Pension, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
Improvements include: loft insulation, draught proofing, cavity-wall insulation, hot water tank insulation, energy-efficient light bulbs, gas or oil central heating.
3. In December 2006 Haringey Council signed the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change, committing it to work with the government to deliver the UK climate change programme.
The council has introduced a number of measures aimed at tackling climate change. These include:
- Production of a leaflet - You Got the Power - giving a wide range of tips to residents on how they can save energy at home. This is available to all Haringey residents from libraries and council receptions.
- All street lights and council buildings are powered from green electricity.
- All parking meters now use solar power.
- Proposals for new residential parking charges based on vehicles CO2 emissions.
- Trialling of new light bulbs in street lights in Noel Park that use 30 per cent less energy that previous bulbs, yet give out 30 per cent more light. There are plans to roll these out across the borough if they are successful.
- A huge number of improvements to our recycling service, helping to increase the borough's recycling rate from 2 per cent in 2001 to 24.6 per cent (February 2007).
- In a pilot project, energy audits have been carried out for 10 primary schools in the borough. The council also holds school assemblies with primary school children on climate change and the importance of energy efficiency at school and at home.
- The council planning polices require energy efficiency and 10 per cent renewable energy for major development proposals in the borough.
- For small scale alterations to homes and other buildings, the council has produced a comprehensive guide for sustainability titled ‘Greening Your Home’, which can be viewed on the council website: www.haringey.gov.uk/greening
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