SETH Project

Teesdale Village Halls Consortium set up its SETH project in 2006 to help all 33 of the member halls of the Consortium to reduce their energy consumption in order to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency. With the increases in energy costs over the last few years these have become one of the halls' most expensive outgoings and the Consortium felt it was vital to support the halls to help them look at ways in which they could reduce these costs.

£10,000 of funding was secured from CoRE (Community Renewable Energy) to carry out an individual energy audit and renewable energy options survey on each member hall and a local organisation Teesdale Environmental Consulting ran by Ewan Boyd was contracted to carry out this work.

Throughout 2008 Ewan visited every hall in the Consortium looking initially at their current energy usage, costs and carbon emissions. This varied considerably between the halls due to how often the hall is used and the types of fuel they are using. Ewan then divided the halls into three categories of high, medium and low usage and set key performance indicators to compare the energy data between the halls of their total energy consumption and total carbon emissions related to the size of their building, This allows the halls to compare their energy usage to other similar halls in the Consortium and see how they are performing against them.

Ewan then carried out energy efficiency assessments looking at the buildings including doors and exits, insulation, windows, roof spaces, heating and hot water systems, lighting and any additional equipment. Other environmental issues were also considered such as water consumption and cleaning products.

A renewable options assessment was also carried out for each hall to identify any potential opportunities for renewable technologies that may help to improve energy efficiency within the halls such as solar power and wind power.

Each report was concluded with recommendations to the halls management committee on measures that could be taken to make improvements - these ranged from simple tasks such as adding lining materials to curtains to more long term solutions such as replacing windows with double glazing.

Earlier this week briefing sessions took place to which all members of the Consortium were invited and Ewan explained the purpose of the reports and the data he had produced. Ewan has also produced some simple tools to help halls in the future, firstly a monthly monitoring system where halls can record their fuel usage from their meters and therefore monitor their consumption levels. He has also produced an energy saving guide which suggests measures that can be implemented by management committees and user groups to conserve as much energy as possible.

From the original reports a large number of halls have been identified as potentially suitable for various renewable technologies and full feasibility studies are underway at three sites; these studies are being partially funded by the Big Lottery Community Sustainable Energy Programme.

Helen Thistlethwaite, Projects and Marketing Officer for Teesdale Village Halls Consortium said:

"We are extremely pleased with the work Ewan has carried out and it has increased awareness of the energy issues halls are facing and how these can be monitored and hopefully improved. This is a great achievement for the Consortium to be involved with a unique project like this and we hope it is possible to implement renewable technologies at the selected halls to make them as sustainable as possible for the future."

For more details on the project please contact Ewan Boyd, Teesdale Environmental Consulting on 01833 622051 or email teesenvironmental@btinternet.com

For more details on CoRE (Community Renewable Energy) please contact Ross Weddle, CORE Manager on 01289 309669 or visit www.corecoop.net