Village Hall Goes Green With Underfloor

Putley village hall in a sleepy part of Herefordshire four miles west of Ledbury is set to make waves in the world of energy efficiency with plans give it a £300,000 energy makeover. The committee who has brain stormed the energy saving initiative is putting together a “large” lottery application and arranging fund raising drive.

The hall itself dates back to the 1920s so was not built with energy efficiency in mind and currently uses an ancient convectional radiator heater system. Convection heating has been proven to be less energy efficient than space heating systems such as underfloor heating and one of the main developments is installing an underfloor heating system.

There is one main difference, as it is not an electric underfloor heating system. It will be powered by a ground source heat pump which is otherwise known as a geothermal heat pump. This can draw heat from a few feet below the surface of the earth which maintains a constant temperature throughout the year, it can also return heat to the earth during the summer to cool the hall.

The village hall will also be given a thorough insulation makeover to prevent heat from escaping and energy will be supplemented by solar panels. The hall is only used sporadically so the cost of use being brought down is a major concern to the parish committee alongside the green effects of the developments.

Although based on twice a week hire the hall might have to be booked for about 96 years constantly to actually make the money back it is thought that this trend might catch on. The refurbishment if approved is estimated at 18 months, luckily however domestic underfloor heating is a lot more cost effective and easy to install!