June 2025
E-bike scheme comes to Littlebury Village Hall The village is now part of the Saffron Walden e-bike hirescheme
July 2024
Keeping Homes Cool With the increasingly hot weather and periods of extreme heat, it’s useful to have strategies for keeping our homes cool in summer. Hot homes are unpleasant, and several nights where bedroom temperatures are above 18oC can be dangerous for vulnerable people. It is best to stop excess heat ever getting in your
Keeping Your Home Cool in Summer
With the increasingly hot weather and periods of extreme heat, it’s useful to have strategies for keeping our homes cool in summer. Hot homes are unpleasant, and several nights where bedroom temperatures are above 18oC can be dangerous for vulnerable people. It is best to stop excess heat ever getting in your house in the
Time of Use Electricity Tariffs
Recently there has been a lot of coverage of domestic energy prices, and the energy price cap. Electricity tariffs can be fixed, where you pay a constant price for each unit of electricity, or variable where the price changes over time monthly, daily or hourly. The venerable economy 7 tariff makes a cheaper price available
Autumn Action: Quick Fixes to Prepare for Winter Weather
With Autumn upon us and the cold weather of winter soon to return, we look at relatively easy, more affordable steps that can help to keep houses warm and save you money at the same time. Below that we also list some approaches to saving money on heating while still being comfortable. Quick Fixes to Create
Reducing High Heating Costs in a Cold Listed Cottage
This month we talked to Ben and Richard about how they have improved their listed cottage after experiencing a very cold house during their first winter there. Ben and Richard live in Mill Cottage in Littlebury, a cottage formed from two original 18th Century dwellings with a 20thCentury kitchen extension and a 21st Century second extension. The
Using Electric Bikes for Cheaper, Greener Local Travel
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
Home Improvements to an all-Electric House
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
Plugging in to Home Electric Vehicle Chargers: Considerations for Choosing a Home EV Charger
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
Solar Panels and Battery Installation in a Modern Bungalow
*** 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