It's a Battle Between Light and Dark!

Camden residents are set to see the benefits of investing in energy saving measures thanks to a new £250,000 council fund. The new ‘revolving energy’ fund will be used by the council to invest in projects to test environmentally friendly initiatives and reduce the amount of energy council buildings use.

By reducing the energy council buildings use, the scheme aims to reduce CO2 emissions, help protect the environment and save money. The savings would then be re-invested in more energy saving projects. The project ultimately aims to show businesses and residents how to make changes that help save the environment and money too.

The project will start with council owned buildings, such as libraries and council offices and concentrate on simple changes like putting in better insulation or modernising heating systems.

The first scheme will see inefficient lighting in Bloomsbury Square car park replaced with modern efficient bulbs (see photos). This simple change will massively reduce energy use, cutting the council’s electricity bill by £14,000 a year and save 104 tonnes of CO2 each year and 591 tonnes in the project’s lifetime. That is enough carbon dioxide to fill 582 doubledecker buses and the amount of the greenhouse gas offset by planting 142 trees every year.

Another project will see a Powerperfector installed at Swiss Cottage library. This box of electronic tricks regulates the supply to a building, and will reduce the electricity used by the library by up to 11.5 per cent.

The idea for the revolving energy fund was suggested by the council’s sustainable taskforce. This all party group of councillors advises the council on ways of delivering more sustainable council services.

Camden Council’s executive member for resources, Cllr Janet Grauberg, said: “If we want to achieve our ambition of making Camden a sustainable borough, we know we have to make it easier for the whole community to protect the environment. And the council has to do its bit to reduce its impact on the environment, including reducing energy use and CO2 emissions. The revolving energy fund is a first step to doing this. It’s also a really good example of how you can do the right thing for the planet and save money.”

Chair of Camden’s sustainability taskforce, Cllr Alexis Rowell, said: “The council needs to get its house in order in terms of energy efficiency and that's what this fund aims to do. It could be simple changes like improving insulation or a cutting edge use of the latest technology. But in the end it will all help in the battle against climate change. Best of all we'll also be saving money for council taxpayers by reducing energy bills.”

Camden residents can find out what they can do to save energy, money and the environment by visiting the energy pages on the council’s website (www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/environment/energy/). This contains lots of simple tips, such as by replacing one ordinary light bulb with an energy saving one will save up to £78 over its lifetime.