We are looking for someone to join our team as a Home Energy Advisor. This is a great opportunity for someone based in South Devon to work in a self-employed role helping local people to keep warm and healthy at home and working towards decarbonising housing. 
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For more information about the role please visit our vacancies page.

We know that many people in the UK do not have the choice to turn down their heating, because they simply can’t afford to put the heating on in the first place, even here in the South Hams 12% of households are already living in fuel poverty and that number is only going to rise as energy prices increase.

The advice below is intended for anyone who is able to make the choice to turn down their heating. If you can’t afford to keep your home warm enough, we strongly urge you to contact our energy advice team who will be able to help. Depending on the condition of your home you will also need to make sure there is enough warmth and ventilation to avoid damp and condensation building up.
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This blog was written by Sophie, one of South Dartmoor Community Energy’s advice team managers.

​There are several reasons why you might want to turn down your heating:

1. To save money by reducing your heating bills.
2. To reduce your carbon emissions and therefore your impact on climate change.
3. To stop using energy at peak times, which helps to pave the way for a smarter grid with more renewable energy generation.
4. To play your own small part in reducing UK reliance on fossil fuels.

But nobody wants to be cold and home, and we certainly do not advocate for people feeling cold (unless you’re choosing to have an ice bath of course, or doing a spot of winter wild swimming!)

You can contact our advice team for help if you are struggling to keep your home warm advice@sdce.org.uk or call 0800 112 3044.

So what’s a good temperature for your house?

18-21c is the suggested temperature for homes in the UK. But we encourage you to find what feels comfortable to you.

I am a very active person and I don’t like the house very warm, so I am comfortable at 16-17c most of the time. But if I sit still for a long time I do need it a bit warmer, say 18-19c and if I’ve already employed my other ‘keeping warm’ tactics I will need to put the heating on. I also don’t have any issues with damp and condensation, and my house is small and does not take a long time to heat up and cool down.
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Here are some of my top tactics for keeping warm without using the central heating:

• Fluffy slippers - I wear two pairs of socks and fluffy slippers to keep my feet warm.
• Wrist warmers – you can buy these, or just cut the feet off a pair of old socks and tuck them up your sleeves. Really makes a difference by eliminating the draught at your wrists, or if you have a creative friend they might crochet some for you like mine!
• Warm clothes – layers and warm jumpers. Many of us have become used to being able to walk around in a t-shirt at home in the winter. We need to change this, wearing warm clothes is a no brainer.
• Blankets – I always have a blanket wrapped around me when I am working from home, during a meeting I just push it down out of view of the camera.
• Snuggling; with a hot water bottle, or another person, or a pet – you choose!
• Hot drinks - I drink a lot of tea while I’m working from home, always remember to only boil as much as you need or keep some in a thermos for later.
• Get moving to warm up - have a dance in the kitchen or maybe you want to do a full blown HIIT workout. Even some gentle stretching from where you are will get the blood flowing and help to warm you up. Not to mention how good it is for your physical and mental health 😊
• Open the curtains – let the sunshine in! This is called Passive Solar Gain, and it makes a big difference, especially if you’re lucky enough to have some south facing windows, make sure the sun can stream through and the warm air can circulate through the house.
• Close the curtains! As soon as it starts to get dark, close the curtains to help reduce heat loss from your windows. It also makes you feel warmer to see a soft fabric, rather than a dark cold glass surface.
• Tuck your curtains behind or above radiators – this is really useful, if your curtains are covering the radiators that warm air rising from the radiator will go straight up behind the curtain and will not circulate properly in your room.
• Stop draughts – a cool draught on your neck or round your ankles can make the rest of you feel much chillier. Take a walk around your house on a windy day and check if there are any draughts, you might need to get a draught excluder for the bottom of a door or some draught strips around windows or doors. There is often support for draught proofing measures, if you need advice you can contact our energy advice team.

​And of course, its crucial to get your home insulated to reduce the heat loss, a fully topped up loft insulation, and cavity wall insulation are the basics. You can also insulate solid walls, sloping ceiling and under the floor. Contact our energy advice team for information on local installer companies and grants.

SDCE has a team of qualified and experienced advisors to help householders in the South Hams keep warm at home, if you have any questions on what support is available to you please contact us on 0800 112 3044, or email advice@sdce.org.uk

We're sad to say goodbye to Peter Crone, one of the founder members of SDCE, and a community energy visionary who always had us thinking on our feet for the next ambitious project!

Without Peter's input SDCE wouldn't be where it is today, and we have enjoyed working with him since 2016. It was in fact Peter and Katie who first conceived of the idea for SDCE way back in 2014!

We wish you all the best with your new venture and work to deliver clean offshore wind energy for the UK.

Thank you from all of us at SDCE!

SDCE is looking to connect with South Hams based building contractors, construction professionals, architectural technologists and architects who are interested in retrofitting existing housing to reduce carbon emissions.

The UK must decarbonise existing housing, and we expect increasing demand for skilled people to train and work as Retrofit Coordinators.

​Please get in touch with us to discuss partnership opportunities.

Email retrofit@sdce.org.uk 

The Townstal Community Partnership is organising this great event for local residents to provide advice on housing, energy, benefits and all sorts of other support available to help people get through the coming winter months. 
Our energy advice team will be there ready to answer your energy questions to help you afford to keep warm. 

This is a very worrying time for all of us as we are unsure just how much energy bills are going to increase, or even if our suppliers will still be around in a few months time.
 
If you are concerned about whether you can afford your energy bills please contact our free and impartial energy advice team. We cover the South Hams and can advise by phone, email and at home visits. You can reach us on 0800 112 3044 or email advice@sdce.org.uk. (Our partners provide the same service across Devon.)
 
While it may not be possible to find a cheaper tariff anymore, we will check your tariff and ensure you are getting all the support available from your supplier, in some cases this also includes financial support. Crucially, we can also help you apply for insulation grants to reduce the amount of energy you need to keep your home warm, and through the LEAP programme we are able to fit small energy saving measures such as LED bulbs, draught proofing, power down gadgets and hot water tank jackets – all for free.
 
In crisis situations there is additional support, this can happen to anyone, so please if you are concerned we urge you to contact us because we are here to help.
 
Our advisors are trained to help you understand tricky heating controls and set them up most efficiently for you, and can advocate on your behalf to you landlord if your home needs heating or insulation improvements.
 
We work closely with South Hams District Council and our service is 100% grant funded so is free for you. All our advice team are qualified and DBS checked.
 
We’re a not-for-profit community organisation, our mission is to help people save energy and stay warm and healthy in their homes.

Three of our team, Kara, Dan and Sophie, are all running marathons this Autumn to raise funds for their favourite charities. They'd all be super grateful for your support to encourage them to keep going and to support these brilliant charities.

Click on the photos for links to their fundraising pages.

​Good luck guys!

Benefits of Community Energy: Report Launch 18th June @10am Zoom
Please join us at the launch of a new report into the benefits of community-owned energy schemes. The free webinar is part of Community Energy Fortnight on the 18th June from 10:00 to 11:30.
 
The evidence-based study concludes that investing in local, community-owned renewable energy generation projects can deliver better value for money for a local economy than purchasing similar energy from a traditional commercial provider. The report was completed by CAG Consultants and is based on Treasury Green Book compliant methodology to determine the socio-economic benefits.
 
The report was commissioned by Devon County Council and the South West Energy Partnership which is part of the European Local Energy Assistance programme. The webinar is supported by the AgroRES project.
 
The webinar will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the report’s findings and its potential to stimulate further community projects.
 
To register please click here.
 
Agenda

• Welcome by Cherilyn Mackroy MP, representing the Environmental Audit Committee
• The Report Findings by Bill Kirkup, Dave Lawrence and Mary Anderson, CAG Consultants
• Review of the Report with the Panel:
  • Emma Bridge, CEO at Community Energy England
  • Jake Burnyeat, Managing Director at Communities for Renewables
  • Matthew Clayton, Managing Director at Thrive Renewables
  • Patrick Allcorn, Head of Local Energy at Department at BEIS
• Q&A with delegates, speakers and panelists

  
This webinar is part of the AgroRES project which is funded by Interreg Europe and aims to develop measures that encourage the production and use of renewable energy in the agricultural and rural sector.

We'd like to hear from you about how you prefer to pay for your energy, most of us are familiar with monthly direct debit and prepayment options. But could there be a different way?

For many of us energy bills can be worrying and changeable, would you prefer to not have to think about how much energy you use. What if you could choose a 'Comfort Supplier' instead of an energy supplier who can guarantee to keep your home warm, and they'd be responsible for maintaining your heating system? Or maybe you like paying for the exact units of energy that you use.

If you complete the survey before 30th April, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a delicious ethical goody bag including some very special chocolate!

If you've been following the progress of our housing project, you may have noticed that the planning decision date has now passed.

A few weeks ago, South Hams notified us that they had changed the planning officer on our case and they have a backlog of applications to deal with.
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We are awaiting a new determination date, but will update you when we can.