Energy

Each of our action categories are important in their own way.
Energy use and the related emissions come from many sources. Making steel, making concrete. Growing food, processing food, storing food, moving food. Making stuff, making packaging, packing stuff, moving stuff, keeping stuff. Powering the world’s data centres. Keeping the house/workplace warm, keeping it cool. Walking, cycling, driving, taking a flight. Collecting waste+recycling, treating waste+recycling. Cleaning fresh water, dealing with waste water and sewage. Digging tunnels, making roads. Making cars, dealing with waste cars. All these require some kind of energy, all have carbon implications. We ran out of space but you get the picture. What bigger changes can we make and how can we work together on those bigger projects to produce low emissions energy? (Remember your biggest sphere of influence is usually your home and travel/transport – so check out those sections here too).
We can choose to buy electricity (and some gas) from renewable sources (see Buildings) but can also get involved in electricity generation (often through solar PV) on our buildings or local sites. When a home, school, farm, office, factory, hospital is powered by on-site or local solar or wind power, the electricity is low carbon. But also it’s local, meaning that no money is leaving the area to pay for power generated elsewhere.

Having locally generated electricity (and there are some heat initiatives too) is open to all, through community energy schemes. Here local people can invest even a small amount in a community-owned scheme. Such schemes are another way of people coming together to strengthen connections and create more resilient communities.

Simply having an awareness of the energy that has gone into refining, processing, manufacturing or transporting all those things that we buy can affect our choices. Everything has so-called ’embodied’ energy, which is often unseen and is likely to have come from fossil fuels.

For a business, an energy audit will reveal ways that energy is being embodied in what is being produced, and how manufacturing and business processes, and transport, can be modified to use less energy.

The most direct contact most of us have with energy choices is in choosing the supply of energy for our homes and for transport.
Keep Herefordshire Warm is a great source of locally focused information about energy efficiency and grant funding support: 

There are inspirational examples of established local community energy projects around the county. For more information see: 

Work smarter

££
I will convince my workplace to get an energy/carbon audit and act on it this year

Workplace Electric Vehicle charging

£££
I will convince my workplace to install electric car charging point(s) for company, employee or visitor vehicles

Energised Communities

£££
I will support a local community energy project

Community switching

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I will get together with my neighbours and we will switch together to a provider of renewable electricity

Solar PV electricity generation

££££
I will install solar photovoltaic panels on my house/building this year

Solar thermal hot water

££££
I will install solar thermal water heating in my house/building this year

Heat Pumps - low emission heating

££££
I will install a Heat Pump to replace my inefficient heating system this year