Greening Headley
In the spring we launched our Greening campaign at the Holme School and about 70 people attended. The children were very enthusiastic and the choir sang a couple of songs at the opening, which they had helped to write, one of which was “Greening Headley” to the tune of “London’s Burning” which was very sweet. They also had a fashion parade of their favourite jumpers.
We were following a proven formula where a Parish chooses 8 simple challenges which were printed on a card and distributed to every household in the area. When people can commit to 5 of these challenges they displayed the card in a front window to be counted at a later date. Then the total saving for the parish could be calculated. They were things like – turn off lights when you leave a room – change to low energy light bulbs – turn off standbys – turn the thermostat down by 1 degree and turn off taps when brushing teeth etc.
Myths Concerning Energy Saving Light Bulbs There has been plenty of publicity recently concerning low energy light bulbs and the phasing out of conventional tungsten bulbs. The use of tungsten bulbs is not being banned, however, the manufacture of 100W bulbs ceased in 2009, with 60W and 40W bulbs being phased out in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are essentially smaller versions of the fluorescent tubes that have been in use for many years, typically in work places. CFLs use 80% less electricity, can save you about £3 a year each depending on size/rating, and can last up to 12 times longer than oldfashioned tungsten bulbs. You can now get all shapes and sizes, fittings and levels of brightness, including 150W equivalent and dimmable options (although these are not so common). Although switching them on uses the equivalent electricity as leaving them on for a few minutes, it is still considered better to switch them off when the room is not in use, particularly as most now light instantaneously. Safe Disposal – CFLs do contain small amounts of mercury – about 5mg, which is locked within the tube (hence safe in normal use), therefore they should be taken to the local municipal tip for safe disposal. If you smash one of the bulbs, the room should be ventilated for 15 minutes. Put on your rubber gloves, brush the bits into a bag, seal it and drop it at the tip the next time you go. If you would like to find out more, you can contact the Energy Saving Trust on 0800 512012. |