Rapid advances in battery technology have enabled widespread adoption of electric bikes (ebikes). Can an ebike be a realistic option for greener local journeys in the countryside? We spoke to several village residents about their ebikes. What is an ebike? Legally we are talking about ‘electrically assisted pedal cycles’. The electric motor assists the rider […]
This month we look at an example of improvement options for a house with existing storage heating. Cliff and Fiona Snow have lived in Rookery Lane, Wendens Ambo since 1998. The cottage was built around 1840, and has several extensions. Heating is via electric storage heaters, with LPG gas fire back-up. The cottage has never
Zappi car charger Although the transition to 100% of new cars being zero emission was moved back to 2035 recently, it is still expected that 80% of new cars will be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030. For those with off-road parking, charging at home can be economical (See the bottom of the post for other
*** Update : Gordon updated us on his first spring with the Solar Panels: “Just to update you on my Solar Panels. I only used £1.92 of electricity during May 2024 and my bill for the month was £18.16 (Ed: Predominantly made up of standing charges).” *** The photographer Gordon Ridgewell moved to Littlebury about
Cindy Whife and Malcolm Domb have lived in a recently built three bedroom detached house in Peggys Walk since 2013. Although these well-insulated houses were designed for low carbon heating, the initial prototype ASHPs performed badly and have generally been replaced with new much more effective and efficient models. Cindy says “The original heat pumps
Charlie Wittich lives with his wife and two children in a Grade 2 Listed (applies to whole house), 4 bed house in the Littlebury Conservation Area. The house is in 3 sections – an original 1560 part fronting the high street and mid-1800’s and mid-1900’s extensions. The house had a very old oil boiler when
A thermal imaging camera provides a way to visualise where your home is losing heat. The camera can take images of both normal visible light and infrared light (i.e. heat) and superimpose the two images on top of each other.
In 2014 we had Solar Photovoltaic panels installed on the roof. The system is oriented East – West because of the pitch of the roof and consists of 13 panels (Renesola 255W with Solar Edge inverter and voltage optimisers), 3 panels oriented to the East and 10 to the west giving a combined capacity of 3,32 kW. On average the panels generate 2.74MWh of electricity per year over the past years.
I have had a go at a rough estimate of the Annual Littlebury energy usage: The result is between 5800 and 6300 MWh depending on method of averaging. We should regard this as an initial range finder of the amount given the details and caveats below, and an estimate that can be improved. The average
In this month’s Littlebury Energy Project (LEP) update, we talk to Gordon Ridgewell about his recent experience of having solar panels installed and also to Jonathan Ashe about the issues affecting houses in the Littlebury Conservation Area. The photographer Gordon Ridgewell moved to Littlebury about 10 years ago, his late wife Megan’s family having been associated with
