Guest Blog: A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE

Content taken from Matt Gallagher's Blog :

I am sure that there are many people who wonder what it might be like to travel into the future. What looks cool now that will eventually appear dated and inefficient? How will we deal with the most pressing problems of the age? What will change, and what might stay the same?

There are no such things as time machines…yet! However, there is a hidden corner of Chorlton where it is possible to make a journey of sorts into a world that is yet to come. This Sunday Victor Chamberlain and I had the privilege of visiting 3 The Thorns, in Chorltonville, where we met with Kit Knowles and Jonny Allen at the Ecospheric Eco Show Home.

Victor and I went there to congratulate them on receiving a £50k grant from DECC’s Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF), recently announced by Lib Dem Energy and Climate Change Secretary of State Chris Huhne. Their Ecoville project will help Chorltonville residents improve their homes energy efficiency, reduce energy bills and live more sustainably.

Chorltonville was selected for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that the houses there are exactly 100 years old and as such they are not constructed of the latest materials. Their size and location were also considered when the decision was being made.

From the outside the Eco Show Home looks much like its neighbours, but step inside and you are immediately struck by how bright and airy it is, how well-regulated the inner temperature is and how the latest technology can work with a century-old house to create a truly up to date and comfortable home.

Working in partnership with Action for Sustainable Living Kit and Jonny will ensure the grant is targeted at communities to help them understand the potential for improvements in their homes and prepare for new opportunities in sustainable energy arising from the Green Deal, Renewable Heat Incentives and Feed-In Tariffs.

Kit and Jonny plan to offer up to £500 worth of products and services FREE to each household to help them reduce their energy bills. This will include;

• An energy monitor for every household and access to an on-line forum where you can ask advice from experts and track savings.

• Energy fitness and retrofit surveys for 40 households

• A series of workshops delivered by Action for Sustainable Living, Ecospheric and Carbon Coop.

• Tours of the Chorlton Eco Show Home.

The project will help to develop positive ways in which these worthy objectives can be rolled out further afield. I recommend checking out www.ecospheric.co.uk/ecoville for further information. If you get the chance arrange to visit the Eco Show House. It is well worth seeing.

Local MP John Leech has endorsed the project and said, ” I am delighted that Ecospheric and AfSL have been awarded a £50,000 grant as part of the Local Energy Assessment Fund, and will be one of the UK’s 82 pioneering energy efficiency projects.”