Mid Suffolk and Babergh councils have launched a consultation on how to make lit easier for owners of listed building to make their home more energy eficient. They say both councils have thousands of listed properties, but these often suffer from poor energy performance due to factors such as limited insulation, poorly fitting windows and single glazing – which are costly to both the environment and owners.
The consultation has now closed. The council’s response is awaited.
Listed building owners currently have to apply for Listed Building consent to make change. But the two councils which work together could now become the first rural councils to introduce Listed Building Consent Orders (LLBCO).
Cllr Deborah Saw, Babergh District Council deputy leader, said: “Listed buildings give our area its unique character and are one of its greatest assets. We must conserve this rich heritage, but at the same time this initiative could cut needless red tape for energy efficiency upgrades which are balanced and sensitively designed.
“The current system is burdensome in terms of time and cost, creating a barrier for homeowners. This new, forward-thinking approach would encourage them to get work done, such as better insulation.
“This would help reduce energy bills, protect buildings from climate change and cut carbon emissions. We would like to identify solutions to these critical issues which both meet the needs of our residents who live in these important buildings whilst protecting what is special about our district.”
Cllr Andrew Stringer, Mid Suffolk cabinet member for heritage, planning and infrastructure, said: “This would be a big step forward and not one that other rural local authorities are doing.
“Our district’s wonderful heritage will not be compromised – but we can, at the same time, make it easier for people to make listed properties more energy efficient in a sympathetic and sensitive way.
“We welcome the views of our residents, along with conservation and heritage organisations, and I would encourage everyone to take a look at this proposal and have their say.”
In the areas covered this would safeguard the historic environment but streamline the approval of “balanced and sensitive energy efficiency improvements”.
The announcement can be read on the council’s website The consultation opens on November 10 and will run until December 29. It can be accessed here.
The Green Team have a thermal camera to help Debenham people make their homes more energy efficient and is available on loan. It helps householders identify where their homes are leaking energy.
The camera, a Flir One Edge, captures images on both smart phones and tablets. It has been purchased with funding from the Adnams Charitable Foundation.
To borrow the camera email the Green Team
debenhamgreenteam@gmail.com
While the camera is simple to use the real benefits come to those who have learned how to interpret the thermal images which are stored on your smart phone or tablet.
Loans need to happen in winter months temperature differential between indoor and outdoor temperatures of 14°C is required for accurate readings.
View our guidance on Using the Thermal Camera which will work with iOS and Android devices, both phones and tablets.
The camera should be collected from Abbotts Hardware in Debenham
Make sure the camera is fully charged before returning it. A USB charging cable is included in the camera box.
Please share your experience of using the camera and support the scheme by making a donation. £10 is suggested from those who can afford it. You can do that on our feedback form (to be linked)
Yes. This graph from the Energy Saving Trust (March 2022) is for a four bedroom detached house in the South of England with surplus electricity heating water rather than being exported to the grid. There are many variables so it is a rough guide especially as. rising electricity prices increase savings from generating your own
The average domestic solar PV system is 4.2kWp and costs around £6,500 (Energy Saving Trust). A diverter switch to use energy, not needed for other household purposes, for water heating would cost around £800.
Mostly domestic solar panels are regarded as permitted development but there are possible restrictions. Mid Suffolk council directs enquiries to the Planning Portal.
Solar panels on listed buildings are not ruled out by Historic England but listed building consent and Planning Permission is very difficult to get. For other buildings in a conservation area the main requirement is that the panels should not be visible from the road or other right of way. Talk to the conservation officer.
How much space is needed?
A typical 4kW array requires 16 panels — a little under 26 sq m. To get an idea of this, look up at the roof of 22 Gracechurch Street, opposite the hairdresser’s.
Exporting to the grid
Surplus electricity is exported to the grid but at present you cannot get much more than 5p a unit so it is far better to use as much of your own power as possible. This is why a diverter switch is a good investment. You need to have a smart meter supplied free by your energy provider.
Battery storage is another option that may be worth exploring.
Use the Energy Saving Trust calculator
Before using the link above. check the orientation of your roof. If you don’t know or don’t have a compass download a compass app to your phone, Check the pitch of your roof and estimate how much your roof is shaded by trees or other buildings.
If you want to talk to someone who has solar panels
Come along to the next Green Team Recycling Collection of medicine blister packs, writing instruments, tooth products. and Tetra Paks on Saturday 1st October from 9am to 11am outside the Lion on the Village Green when advice will be available.
The Debenham Green Team has acquired equipment to help you find where warmth is escaping from your house. The infrared camera will identify where see where heat is escaping.
Poor insulation is one of the most common reason why homes can be cold and expensive to heat. It is not only old houses but also modern ones can suffer from draughts and poor insulation. But it can be difficult to find problems that can often be fairly easy to remedy.
Debenham Green Team has a new thermal camera which can help you make your home more fuel efficient. This video introduces the Flir One Edge camera whose purchase has been funded by the Adnams Charitable Foundation.
You can check your home’s energy efficiency by borrowing the camera. To do so you will have to register as a Green Team supporter and discover how to use it by ging through the videos and other online training material.
A thermal camera is a straightforward way to identify the cold spots in any house and Debenham Green Team has acquired one which can be borrowed by home owners and occupiers to check their houses. Everyone borrowing the camera needs to understand the camera by viewing videos and reading material on this page before doing a house survey.
Borrowers must also become members of the Green Team before making a booking. There is no membership fee but peole brrowing the camera are asked to make a donation.
Introduction to the Flir One Edge Pro camera.
The Flir One Edge Pro camera connects to phones and tablets using Bluetooth so avoiding the problems caused by different kinds of wires connections. It also means that the camera can be clipped to a phone or can be separated so that you can get the camera into difficult spaces. When an area of interest is identified a photograph or video can be taken. It will be automatically stored on your device. You will have the images after the camera has been returned.
In this next video a couple explain how they have found ways of improving insulation of their 19th century famhouse with some simple, low cost solutions. They borrowed a camera from their electricity supplier.
Finding Poor workmanship
This next video is American but it makes the point that many cold sports and draughts are the result of poorly installed services. Holes drilled in walls for external lights and drains may not have been broperly sealed so it is worth using the thermal camera to look under the the kitchen sink.
If you are going to use the camera you will find it useful to download and print yout own copy of the manual. We do not use Cloud storage of images save — they will only be available on your device.
Inside a Debenham house
This is what a member of the Green Team found when he borrowed the thermal camer to check out his home. He did this on a cold 2ºC, but sunny morning in April. He provides a commentary giving description and analysis of what is being seen with the FLIR 1thermal camera. The house is a 1930 single brick council house with 2009 extension. The single brick part is insulated with phenolic foam giving a very high U level but as this insulation was applied internally there are inevitable cold bridges.
Users can record both videos and stills which are stored on the borrowers phone/tablet and remain accessible after the camera has been returned. Insturctions for recording images are in the Phone App video below. This video runs through all the all the settings.
Still images
This still image from a camera shows a wall and ceiling indicating missing insulation.
Source Flir
The scale on the right shows shows the temperature differential between the warmest and coldest areas on the image. The Green Team camera will normally be set to show temperatures in Celsius. and the scales will be shorter, taking up less screen space when used on a mobile phone.
Try to avoid any major hot spots, such as a wood burning stove, as this will increase the range of temperatures so reducing the contrast in other parts of the image..
The next image shows a typical interior shot.
Source: Flir
Exterior doors often need attention. While replacing the door is often not an option, a lot can be achieved by draught stripping all around. A heavy curtain behind the door will also help. Make sure letter boxes are fitted with flaps and brush draught excluders — or better seal the opening and add an external mail-box which also makes life easier for the postman.
This image also suggests there is cold air ingression on the right side of the door frame. And there is a problem in the top left corner ehere the call and ceiling meet.
The next document is the manufacturer’s guide to using to using the camera around the house.
Before using the camera you must download the Flir One app from Google Play or the Apple App store depending on your advice. Both camera and app should be compatible with iOS 15 and later or Android OS11 or later.
If in any doubt it is probably worth downloading the app and starting it. After the opening screen you should be given the option to connect a Flir one edge camera or a Flir One (camera that plugs into a phone). You need the Flir One Edge Pro that connects usig bluetooth.
The phone app
The following video runs through using the app and its settings. Generally it will work with the default settings.
Source: Flir
If you experiment with setting please return the camera set to the IRON colour combination which gives us the range of colours normally used. Also set temperature to Cº.
The MSX alignment can be puzzling. The Flir is really two cameras — a thermal image sensor and a conventional camera. This means that alignment varies depending on distance, but generally this is not significant which checking for insulation and cold draughts.
The Green Team will not have access to any screen shots you take. They will be stored on you device so that you can use them when improving your insulation and stopping draughts.
If you identify unused chimneys as a source it may be worth considering a chimney balloon. You can Google “chimney balloon” to find suppliers.
Ready to book your camera loan
Before you can book to borrow the camera you must have registered as a member of the Green Team for which there is no charge. And access to the booking system is only available to those which are registered and longed-on.
