AGM 2023 Presentation in the Parish Rooms

The Ashton Hayes Community Energy C.I.C. held its Annual General Meeting on Monday 3rd April 2023 at 7:30pm in the Parish Rooms. Roy Alexander was in the chair. The slides are here.

The Company will continue to carry on activities which benefit the community of Ashton Hayes, in particular to:

• Develop, install, manage, operate, generate, transmit and provide the supply of energy from renewable energy sources.

• Promote awareness of environmental issues, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The Directors for 2022/23 are:

• Roy Alexander
• Garry Charnock
• Lauren Colville
• Kate Harrison (Hon. Secretary) • Maria Lindley
• Andy Pennick
• Richard Stradling
• David Wilson (Hon. Treasurer)

Roy Alexander (left) is stepping down as chair in the coming months and a member of the Board will take over.

We all wish to thank Roy for his many years of committment to the project and as chair of the CIC. 

The Going Carbon Neutral Project started back in 2005 and is one of the longest running community efforts in combatting climate change. 

AGM will be on 3rd April 2023

Members of Ashton Hayes Community Energy CIC are invited to attend our AGM at 7:30pm on 3rd April in the Parish Rooms. Please come along and hear our presentation about our activities over the past year and learn about our plans for the coming months. We look forward to seeing you and answering any questions you may have.

How our solar panels are performing at the school & pavilion

This information (report 1 and report 2) on the Import and Export data from the meters at the School and Pavilion. The reports cover the period August 2022 to January 2023 and illustrate the benefits of PV Systems at the Primary School and Sports Pavilion through reducing Electricity Supply Costs and also explain the potential for further optimisation.

Report 2 also shows the Pavilion Cafe Freezer and Fridge Power Consumption during 5 weeks of monitoring.

We believe that the school would have bills 25% higher without the PV and based on current price capped rates this suggests a saving in excess of £2500 per year.

Export meters were installed by SMS (on behalf of Green Energy UK) at both the Sports Pavilion and the Primary School. Since this time we have been able to see precisely how much of the Generated electricity we are Exporting to the grid, and thus deduce how much of the Generation we are truly consuming. This has also permitted us to see exactly what the total electricity consumption is, by combining the measured Supply meter reading (Import) with the part of the Generation that we are consuming.

Both reports were produced by AHCEC CIC board member Richard Stradling and we are extremely grateful for his comprehensive analysis.

Check your house insulation with free use of our thermal imaging camera

The Ashton Hayes Community Energy Company CIC has bought a Flir thermal camera that is very easy to use and which can be borrowed for free to enable residents to check the thermal performance of their property. Details on how to borrow the camera can be found here.

A copy of the user manual can be downloaded here. Thermal imaging is most effective on cold, dry evenings, when the heating is on and the contrast between indoor and outdoor temperatures is greatest. Take images both outside and inside. Outside images will show any ‘hot spots’ in orange/red colours, indicating where heat is leaking out of the house, while indoor images will show cold spots in blue tones. Walls, windows and doors should all be checked to look, for example, for any defective wall insulation, poor double glazing, gaps where heat is escaping.

Garry receives Honorary Doctorate for community engagement in climate change

29 April 2022: We are delighted that Garry has received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Chester for his years of work in engaging communities such as Ashton Hayes and other others around the world to take climate change action. The photo shows Garry left and Professor Roy Alexander (right) celebrating together. Roy has worked with Garry on the Going Carbon Neutral Project since late 2005.