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Five Ashes Village Hall and Memorial Playing Field Trust

Five Ashes, Mayfield, East Sussex. TN20 6JA (Registered Charity No. 1084437

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Carbon Footprint Reduction Activity The 'energy hierarchy' approach to reducing energy use and CO2 emissions – illustrated below in Figure 1 - requires that demand reduction and energy efficiency is maximised before the use of zero and low carbon energy sources is considered. The Energy Hierarchy

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Translating this into a practical approach to reduce our Carbon Footprint

The rebuilding of a large proportion of the hall in 2015 provided an opportunity to sign up to the hierarchy in order to develop a building which would be as energy efficient as possible. Having identified the best building techniques we identified ways to offset the level of Carbon production as a consequence of our activities..

Improved insulation and air tightness within the new structure was the order of the day as determined by building regulations and also our own requirements.

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Fitting high-quality double-glazed window units also added to thermal insulation as well as providing solar gain.

The addition of extra insulation over the existing roof area as well as the new build has helped to reduce heat loss from the building.

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Internally the installation of high efficiency lighting reduces energy consumption.

Presence sensing within the passageways, toilet areas and storage cupboards ensures that these areas are only lit when required and not left on for lengthy periods unnecessarily.

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The entire building is now heated by green electricity. The newer parts being underfloor heated, using air source heat pumps to generate hot water as well.

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Air source, air to water heat pumps use 1kW of electrical energy input and take 2.2kW of low temperature (free) renewable heat energy from the air, producing a highly efficient 3.2kW heat energy output. This heats refrigerant in the system which in turn heats water for domestic hot water and space heating.

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The opportunity was taken to install a Photovoltaic Cell array on the two roof aspects to maximise the opportunity to generate our own electricity.

In a typical year, we generate about 4000 Kwh of electricity. This provides an annual income of about £700 plus free electricity to power the heating and lighting systems.

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As part of our site improvements we have also planted a number of indigenous trees. As well as being used for carbon sequestration their benefit to wildlife is identified on the display boards, which form part of the learning walk which is currently being developed.

We have also planted a boundary hedge around the perimeter of the field.