Energise: a day of retrofit learning and inspiration

Based in Manchester, but operating across the North West, Carbon Co-op is acommunity energy organisation, established to enable people and communities to make the big reductions in domestic energy bills and carbon emissions necessary to tackle the causes of climate change. We are committed to creating aJust Transitionand tacklingEnergy Justiceissues.

Carbon Co-op

Act on Climate Change - Skills for warmer, low-carbon homes.

Levenshulme Inspire Centre

<p>Open to all, a day of workshops for everyone improving homes to save energy, save carbon and save money. </p><p><strong>Tickets available on 'Pay What You Can' basis</strong></p><p>With sessions led by experienced experts this is an opportunity to learn and share knowledge with other people working to take action on climate change.</p><h1>Workshops</h1><p>Workshops are split into three zones: Getting Practical, Getting it Done and Energy Systems.</p><h2>Getting Practical</h2><p><em>Gain hands–on, practical knowledge and skills to help make your home warmer and more healthy. Get stuck in with everything from basic draught-proofing to ventilation and getting hands–on with infra-red cameras. All materials and tools supplied.</em></p>

<h3>Workshop 1: DIY Draught-Proofing</h3><p><strong>Trainer:</strong> Aneaka Kaur Kellay, Carbon Co-op</p><p>Homes in Manchester are often draughty, cold and damp. It is surprising when you start to look, where draughts sneak into our homes and where heat leaks out. In this hands on practical session we will learn how to find draughts, understand what appropriate materials and tools to use, and have a go and sealing up some draughts!</p><h3>Workshop 2: Home Health Check</h3><p><strong>Trainer:</strong> Aneaka Kaur Kellay, Carbon Co-op</p><p>While we spend 90% of our time indoors, we often don’t consider whether the air in our homes is healthy for us. In this session we will learn about indoor air pollution, the dynamics of humidity and moisture and strategies that can be used to improve your home environment, including ventilation.</p><h3>Workshop 3: 10 things to think about that aren't insulation</h3><p><strong>Trainer:</strong> Diane Hubbard, Green Footsteps</p><p>It’s easy to only focus on insulation when you’re considering how to improve the energy efficiency of your home. Diane will help you to understand some of the other factors you need to consider. There will be a 30 min Question &amp; Answer session at the end of the presentation where individual property issues can be raised.</p><h3>Workshop 4: Using a thermal imaging camera</h3><p><strong>Trainer:</strong> Diane Hubbard, Green Footsteps</p><p>This session will take you through the basics on how to use a thermal imaging camera on your home and help you to understand the strengths and limitations of thermal imaging. It will give you an opportunity to use the Carbon Co-op thermal imaging cameras, try other cameras and give you the confidence to assess your own home.</p><p></p><h2>Getting it done: Turning your retrofit plans into reality</h2><p><em>This is a space to help you articulate your aims for your retrofit, find out about the permissions you might need, and discover how you can work with advisors and contractors to make your project a success and avoid some common pitfalls.  We’ll talk about how to achieve your own ‘Grand Design’ without the melodrama. </em></p>

<h3>Workshop 1: Getting started: your aims and priorities</h3><p><strong>Trainers: </strong>Marianne Heaslip, URBED</p><p>In this session you’ll discover how to write a project brief that clearly articulates what you want to get from your project. We’ll talk about how to prioritise and talk about your aims to make sure you get what you want. You’ll learn how to make a project plan that covers all the steps you will need to cover to create a successful retrofit in a realistic timescale. And we’ll look at how important it is to understand where you are starting from. </p><h3>Workshop 2: Before you build: your project plan and advisors</h3><p><strong>Trainers: </strong>Marianne Heaslip, URBED</p><p>Planning and preparing is an important part of any building project. It becomes even more important in retrofit. This is because doing things in the right order and maintaining quality is key to a successful outcome. You may need a variety of permissions and approvals before you can start. We’ll look at the key ones you’re likely to come across. We’ll also talk about who might need as advisors – who does what and when and how to go about choosing your team. </p><h3>Workshop 3: On site: what you need to know</h3><p><strong>Trainers: </strong>Marianne Heaslip, URBED</p><p>Making sure you do the preparation work described in the previous two  sessions will go a long way to avoiding stress on site. However, the construction phase is crucial to achieving your desired outcomes. Key to this is establishing a good relationship with your construction team. This is about selecting the right people and communicating with them clearly. We’ll talk about contracts and payments and how to manage risks and ‘unknowns’ while you’re building. We’ll also look at quality control on site – and what happens after the building work is finished.</p><h3>Workshop 4: Finance for retrofit</h3><p><strong>Trainer: </strong>Matt Fawcett, Carbon Co-op </p><p>This session will look at how to pay for your retrofit, comparing energy efficiency loan offers with conventional finance. We will also briefly discuss how elements like the Smart Export Guarantee scheme for domestic solar and the Renewable Heat Incentive fit into the mix.</p><p></p><h2>Energy Systems</h2><p><em>More and more people are excited about decarbonising the electricity grid, in this zone we’re discussing everything from batteries to heat pumps, solar panels and local energy communities. This is a space to learn about how the energy system works and get hands on with an actual micro energy system.</em></p>

<h3>Workshops 1 &amp; 3: Introduction to Energy Systems</h3><p><strong>Trainer:</strong> Ben Aylott, Carbon Co-op</p><p>A high level overview of the UK energy system and the challenges posed by the need for rapid decarbonisation with a focus on the electricity grid.</p><h3>Workshops 2 &amp; 4: DIY Solar</h3><p><strong>Trainer: </strong>Ben Aylott, Carbon Co-op</p><p>A hands on session assembling an off grid system. We will learn by doing by assembling the system and then use measurements to figure out what is going on.</p><h1>Evening Activities</h1><h2>Home Energy Party!</h2><p><em>Evening, Friday 6th March 2020</em></p><p>Come to a house party with a difference. Led by expert Energy Surveyor Diane Hubbard, we will be  hunting for draughts and cold areas, identifying energy improvements and outlining how to go about making them.</p><p><strong>Book here: </strong><a href="https://energise-lev-energyparty.eventbrite.co.uk" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://energise-lev-energyparty.eventbrite.co.uk</a></p>

<h2>Energise After Party</h2><p><em>Evening, Saturday 7th March 2020</em></p><p>After a day of busy activity a chance to meet, socialise and chat at a local pub. With a complimentary buffet!</p><p><strong>Book here: </strong><a href="https://energise-lev-social.eventbrite.co.uk" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://energise-lev-social.eventbrite.co.uk</a></p>

<h2>Trainer Biographies</h2><h3>Aneaka Kaur Kellay, Carbon Co-op</h3><p>Aneaka has worked in the Retrofit Team at Carbon Co-op for over four years. Her current work focuses on engaging with the supply chain and exploring alternative procurement approaches for domestic retrofit in Greater Manchester. She also works on undertaking community engagement, householder training and member events. She has an MA in Environment, Politics and Globalisation and over ten years of experience working in environmental organisations and co-operatives.</p><h3>Diane Hubbard, Green Footsteps</h3><p>A mechanical engineer, Diane’s interest in building physics arose a number of years ago with the realisation that our existing buildings are crucial to reducing our environmental impact. After the completion of her MSc at the Centre of Alternative Technology and academic publications, she continues to increase our understanding of this field through a combination of research and project work with clients.</p><p>Working as Green Footsteps (greenfootsteps.co.uk), Diane undertakes airtightness testing, infrared thermography and energy calculations for new buildings and those about to undergo retrofits. She is a Passivhaus Consultant, Passivhaus Tradesperson and a Level 2 Building Thermographer.</p><h3>Marianne Heaslip, URBED</h3><p>A chartered architect with interests in urban design, sustainability and participative design. She holds an MSc in Advanced Environment and Energy Studies from the Centre for Alternative Technology, and is a Certified Passive House Designer. She worked on pioneering TSB ‘Retrofit for the Future’ projects with the lessons learned through this work applied in her role on the Carbon Coop’s retrofit 'Community Green Deal’ programme.</p><h3>Matt Fawcett, Carbon Co-op</h3><p><em>Bio to follow</em></p><h3>Ben Aylott, Carbon Co-op</h3><p>Works in the areas of energy systems, he has a masters in Solar Energy Engineering from the European Solar Engineering School and experience in designing and building real world off-grid power systems in a variety of contexts.</p><p></p><h3>Carbon Co-op</h3><p><a href="http://carbon.coop" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">carbon.coop</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/carboncoop" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@CarbonCoop</a></p><p>Carbon Co-op is a community benefit society made up of householder members seeking to make radical reductions in their household energy usage.</p><p>Membership costs £35/year, for more details and to apply visit: <a href="http://carbon.coop/user/register" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">http://carbon.coop/user/register</a></p>

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