LEAF funding success!

Household energy funding success 

We have just received just over £60,000 of funding from the government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. We’d love to see every neighbourhood and every street throughout Bradford and villages working together to find the best ways to save energy in our homes. The money is to help us work out how to do this, and provide the support to be even more active in the future. It will support:

·      Better communication, with improved website, displays, leaflets and more. We’ll be asking how we can best encourage people to talk about what they are doing to save energy, and tackle any problems together.

·      Finding out how best to involve people at a very local level. We will provide a small number of detailed household energy assessments, including feedback and advice in putting recommendations into action. We’ll also take thermal imaging photos of streets throughout the area, so you can see how your house compares to others like it.

·      Finding good local energy efficiency installers. It’s not always easy to find a reliable person to do any work required. CFB’s solar PV recommended installer project has shown just how useful a group approach to this can be.

·      Installing internal solid wall insulation in the Friends Meeting House and the Guides Headquarters. There will soon be grants available for people living in older homes, built before the 1920s, to do this. We’d like to see for ourselves what it involves and how effective it is.

·      Developing a long-term plan for the future. To do this, we’d like to find out more about what we’ve achieved so far – successes and problems!

 So how can you get involved?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got lots of time or just a few hours to spare, we’d love to have your input. Time is short: the work has to be done and all the money spent by the end of March this year! We need help with organisation, leafleting, taking thermal imaging photos, research, monitoring, energy advice and follow up, and much more besides. The money will pay for some of the work to be done, but to really make an impact we need the volunteer enthusiasm and energy for which CFB is so well-known! We’ve listed a few ways you can get involved, but that’s just a taster. For many opportunities, it would also be great to have people who would like to be involved as volunteers in the long-term.

Please get in touch to find out more at CFBLEAF@gmx.co.uk  or phone 07507 782523. We’ll also provide fortnightly email updates, more frequently than the usual CFB email newsletters, so let us know if you’d like to be on the email list for this. We’ll also put the updates on the website, so you can check there if you prefer.  

 Ideas to get you started

·      Arrange for your house to have an energy assessment and invite a couple of neighbours along. We’ll provide chocolate cake or a bottle of wine to help the discussion. And ask around for anyone else who might be interested.

·      Arrange for your street to have thermal imaging photos taken. This will involve leafleting (so people can opt out), and then hosting a feedback event to look at the photos and talk through the results. Or learn to take thermal imaging photos yourself so we can build a thermal map of the community area.

·      Help with behind-the-scenes organising, anything from masterminding streets to be leafleted to responding to enquiries.

·      Get some free energy efficiency training so you can give talks or advise others in future.