Someday we will harness the rise and fall of the tides and imprison the rays of the sun.
Thomas Edison
Projects to reduce carbon emissions in Bovey
| Using energy more efficiently at home
is a good place to start reducing carbon emissions. There's loads
we can all do to save energy, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune -
in fact it will probably cut your fuel bills! Download some of our energy saving tips here |
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Join our BIG Switch in Bovey and switch to green electricity supplied by Ecotricity, a winner in the 2007 Ashden Sustainable Energy Awards. Many Bovey and Heathfiled residents have already switched to the green energy scheme. One of the first to switch last year was Bovey Tracey Town Council, who estimated that they would save £160 as a result. When you switch domestic supply, you'll go on the New Energy tariff, which is only partly sourced from renewable energy. However, unlike any other national electricity supplier, Ecotricity only generates renewable energy so that every penny you spend with them is invested in new wind energy. View the Ecotricity progress report for 2007, which explains how much the company spent last year building new sources of green energy.
Ecotricity promise that their New Energy tariff (phone 08000 362100
free for details) will always match the standard price of the regional
supplier, so for many people switching will be price neutral.
If
you want your electricity use matched against 100% green energy generation,
ask to be put on Ecotricity's New Energy Plus tariff using the
freephone
number below. |
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Apply online on the Ecotricity website (make sure you sign up in the bottom right hand box); or
For everyone who signs up for green electricity using the link above or quoting BCA1 on the phone or switch form, Ecotricity will give a contribution to our Community Renewable Fund. With over 3,000 homes in the town, there's no reason why we can't get 500, or 1,000 to switch. You don't even need to live in Bovey to help build the fund. Local Businesses can also switch - Fine Finishers in Pottery Road has been the first to do so - by obtaining an individual quotation based on past electricity consumption from Ecotricity's freephone number 08000 326100. Quoting BCA2 will generate a £40 Ecotricity donation towards the renewable energy fund.
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Strike a Light! On 1st March, we launched a new campaign to give away a free low energy (LE) lightbulb to every household in Bovey Tracey. The Energy Saving Trust has donated 3800 LE bulbs to the campaign. There's much we can all do to reduce our use of energy. Switching to low energy lightbulbs saves money and reduces our carbon emissions too. If you've not yet switched from old-fashioned lightbulbs, now's your chance to do so. New types and sizes of lightbulbs now means there are low energy equivalents for every type of fitting. To help you, we have produced a free factsheet which tells you all you need to know about choosing and using low energy lightbulbs. Pick one up with your free bulb. There's still time to claim a free lightbulb. Come along to the next Climate Cafe on 24th May between 9.30 and 1pm, at Pixies Corner, Fore Street. Download Low Energy lightbulb factsheet here |
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This
project is aimed at helping families in Bovey reduce the amount of
energy they use. Over 50 households have used the carbon
calculator and thermal imaging camera to see where they are wasting
energy. Our 'Way-in' visits include advice on how to use less
energy.
Is your household up to the carbon test? Call 0845 478 6311 to enrol on Waste Watchers and receive a detailed audit which shows how much energy you use and how much greenhouse gas you produce. Almost fifty households have already benefited. Alongside the audit, we also give simple advice about how to cut energy use and save both money and emissions. The Energy audit team is led by a Plymouth University PhD student, who is researching attitudes to thermal images of heat loss from homes. On request, a Way-in can include a thermal image of your home. |
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Download the Way-in form, and get started! Go on - what are you waiting for? Low carbon living cuts not only CO2, but costs as well. So why not encourage a friend to join too? If you're looking for grants and offers on home insulation and renewable energy, go to the Energy Saving Trust website. Update on Waste Watchers here. <<top |
| The
School 'Hamster' Project Who remembers the school hamster? The school used to let the pupils take a hamster home for a week to learn about looking after animals. Our version is a bit different. We have 10 Electrisave Smart Meters which we loan to local primary schools. The children take them home for a week to monitor their family's electricity use. The Electrisave is a simple gadget which easily fits to the electricity supply and then displays the power, the cost and the CO2 used. The idea is that once the children see how much energy is being used in the home, they'll be keen to turn off lights and appliances and will pester their parents to do the same. You can also borrow an Electrisave from the Climate Change corner in Bovey Library. Just ask the librarian if you don't see it. |
Carbon offsetting is something we can all do to reduce the impact of our personal emissions on climate change. It's an easy way to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere by the same amount that your activities add. Carbon offsets have rightly had some bad press and you should offset only as a last resort AFTER reducing your consumption as much as possible. We've teamed up with local woodland charity Moortrees. You can purchase trees from them that will be planted in woodlands around Bovey to neutralise the CO2 you emit.
Calculate how many tonnes of CO2 you've emitted here. You should plant four trees to offset one tonne of emissions. Then order the appropriate number of trees for the Bovey Carbon Sink here.
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