Partnering with the Hollingdean Community Centre

The Hollingdean Community Centre is located in one of the Brighton’s most diverse and vibrant wards but also one of its poorest.

It is managed by the Hollingdean Development Trust – a charity dedicated to addressing issues of poverty, deprivation and education within the local area.

Since 2014 BHESCo has been visiting the Hollingdean Community Centre regularly every winter to provide free advice and support to help local residents with their gas and electricity bills.

In an era of tight budgets and funding cuts, the community centre were eager to identify ways to reduce their operating costs, freeing up funds to be used more productively in the community. 

Furthermore, many of the Directors of the Hollingdean Community Trust are involved in local climate activism and wanted to demonstrate that they were taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of the building as much as possible.

How did BHESCo reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions at the community centre?

Following a detailed survey of the premises BHESCo designed cost-effective holistic energy strategy that would maximise efficiency, reduce energy demand, and meet as much of that demand as possible through renewable energy technology. 

BHESCo acted as project manager for all energy improvement works, sourcing the most cost-competitive quotes from local installers and overseeing the installation of various energy saving and energy generating measures over a series of weeks. 

The property is located at the top of a hill and has an unshaded, sloped south facing roof, making it an ideal candidate for rooftop solar PV. BHESCo engaged local solar PV installers EcoSphere to survey the property and provide a quote for a rooftop solar-photovoltaic system. A 4kWp solar array was installed which is expected to generate 4,061kWh of electricity each year.

To reduce energy demand in the building, BHESCo recommended the installation of roof insulation. Downs Energy were selected to install insulation in the roof of the building, which will reduce energy usage in the winter months by trapping heat in the building instead of letting it escape and be wasted. 

In addition to improving the thermal efficiency of the building, BHESCo identified an opportunity to reduce electricity demand by replacing the existing lighting in the building with high efficiency Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Lightfoot LED were commissioned to undertake the installation of new lights. 

As a result of the energy saving and renewable energy generating improvements that were installed, we expect the energy saving measures to reduce consumption by 7,500kWh of power each year, which combined with the electricity generated by the solar panels will reduce electricity bills by 75%.

BHESCo's CEO, Kayla Ente (middle, stripes) with local stakeholders

Low carbon energy equipment installed at Hollingdean Community Centre

4kW Solar PV

170mm Roof Insulation

4 Radiator Reflctor Panels

56 LED Lamps

Annual Savings

kWh
200
Bills
£
Tonnes CO2

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