1st February 2023
Work has just been completed on the latest stage of our long-term programme of environmental improvements. This involved the installation of additional layers of mineral fibre insulation blanket over the entire roof area of the main building to provide a minimum thickness of 300 mm of insulation in all roof areas. This will have a permanent and positive impact in reducing our future energy costs.
The next phase of our environmental improvement programme will start on the 13th February when specialist Contractors install a new suspended ceiling in Cleeve room. The work is scheduled to take three days to complete and in addition to installing acoustical tiles to attenuate noise levels and smarten the interior, it will also incorporate a 300 mm layer of mineral wool blanket to further improve the thermal insulation of the building and permanently reduce our energy costs.
Since its inception in 2006 the Trustees have invested over £100,000 at the Centre on environmental improvements. In 2011 we installed 45 solar panels, that have so far generated over 115,000 kwh of power and provide an annual income of around £5,000. In addition, we have installed double glazing throughout the complex, new high-efficiency boilers in the main building and Cleeve room, LED low-energy lighting throughout and major insulation improvements to the walls of Cleeve room.
In the coming months, the Trustees will be investigating the possibility of extending our Solar Panel system to the single-storey outbuildings and installing storage batteries to further reduce our energy costs.