Info and links on how to improve your home’s energy efficiency:
Centre for Sustainable Energy – downloadable fact sheets with advice on insulation, energy bills, using heating controls, smart meters, boilers, heat pumps, solar panels, keeping warm at home, meters, heaters and more.
Reading Draughtbusters – a community group with lots of info and advice on how to stop your home losing heat by making it more draughtproof
Energy Savings Trust – lots of info on how to make your home more energy efficient
Centre for Alternative Technology – information on renewable energy, green building and renovation, water and sewage treatment, organic growing, and more.
The Environment Centre – free Hampshire helpline with trained advisers giving details on all energy efficiency grants, plus lots of other home energy info
To find accredited installers, you can search on these sites:
Trustmark Find a Tradesperson – covering insulation installers and other building trades
MCS Find an Installer – covering mainly solar panel and heat pump installers
For information on grants, the Environment Centre run a free advice helpline funded by Hampshire County Council – more info here, or just call them on 0800 804 8601
For council tenants, Winchester City Council has info here on their Energy Saving Homes project and how you can apply to make your home more energy efficient.
Climate Action in Highcliffe
What can we do about the climate crisis in Highcliffe? It’s clearly a huge, global issue, and it can be difficult to know what we can do about it locally. So the Highcliffe Community Forum for Action asked people how they could help, knocking on over 100 doors in Gordon Avenue, Portal Road and St Catherines Road.
The diagram below shows what everyone said – home energy was a big priority, plus a lot of interest in transport, waste prevention and food.
The Community Forum also organised a climate café event where people could talk about the issues – several of the residents who came along decided to set up a local climate action group, linked to the Community Forum.
With the survey results in mind, the group is now looking at how it can set up projects to help residents reduce their carbon impact – especially around home energy and food. We want to help residents with more information about solar panels, insulation and heat pumps, plus set up composting and local growing projects.
The Highcliffe group is also part of Winchester Climate Action Network, which covers over 15 local climate action groups across Winchester District – so we can share experiences and ideas and work together with other groups.
We are actively looking for more people to get involved, so that the group can do more and be more effective. If you’d like to get involved, please contact highcliffeforum@gmail.com.
Highcliffe Forum 