Environmental and energy savings loom
Hundreds of pounds are year are to be slashed from the energy bills in Warwickshire County Council’s County Record Office.
A specialist climate controlled two-storey strong room at the heart of the County Record Office in Warwick will be the first project in a wave of energy saving initiatives across the county.
The strong room has to be kept at a constant 17 degrees celsius, but in the last two hot summers this has become increasingly difficult to control, and an investigation by the county council’s property support team has revealed that proper insulation would make a huge difference and reduce energy costs.
It was found that there was just one inch of insulation in the roof space, compared to the minimum ten inches now required. Work is underway this week on installing new insulation.
This new Sustainable Development Fund work, shared between the county council and The Carbon Trust, will save more than £600 a year in energy costs, paying for itself in just six years.
However, the works will immediately mean less wasted energy, reducing the amount of climate changing carbon dioxide being emitted to heat or cool the office by 4.2 tonnes a year.
Warwickshire County Council has appointed a new Energy Manager to monitor these issues and they will start in the new role this summer. Then over the next year they will be going over the key priority areas to start saving money.
Schools and Homes for Elderly People are already key priorities for funding from the Sustainable Development Fund.
Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Resources, said: “We are bringing a new focus to corporate energy management and this project is the first step in many to come to cut the amount of money we are wasting on energy, and reduce or impact on the environment.”
Cllr Gordon Collett, the county council’s Climate Change Champion, said: “We need to look very closely at our Carbon Footprint for all buildings. Very simple measures such as proper insulation can have huge financial and environmental results.”
Caroline Sampson, archivist at the County Record Office said: “This system will help us to ensure that the temperature remains at its optimum level to safeguard our archives and I am delighted that it will help save money and reduce our carbon emissions. We are used to looking after Warwickshire’s past so you could say that we are doing our bit to protect its future too.”