An Argyll and Bute village hall that was facing closure due to the cost of keeping it warm has been saved thanks to new state-of-the-art heating and lighting upgrades.
Kilchrenan Village Hall, owned by a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), has been used regularly for around 90 years. It underwent major refurb in 2005, but almost 20 years later, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep it sufficiently warm within the budget.
Tina Goldsmith, one of the trustees, said: “The board of trustees was conscious that the hall was becoming expensive to run and was energy inefficient.
“As the community uses the hall as a resilience hub, as well as for groups and events, it was obvious we needed to make it an affordable, warm space for local people and a welcoming space for anyone who wants to rent it.”
Tina contacted Business Energy Scotland, an initiative funded by the Scottish Government, for support and advice. A Business Energy Scotland consultant reviewed the property and provided a detailed report, highlighting the changes that could be made, the associated savings and emissions reduction. It was estimated that the hall could cut its emissions by 79 per cent.
The trustees pressed ahead with replacing all the lights with LED equivalents, insulated the roof space and installed an air source heat pump with an upgraded electrical board and remote controls for the heating.
As the building had no ‘wet’ heating system, an air-to-air split system was introduced to work with the convector system in the hall, which warms up quickly and can be shut down without any wasted heat as people leave.
Although work has been only recently completed, the benefits are already showing.
Tina said: “Without the changes, the hall may have closed as it was too cold to realistically be used at an affordable price. The report we received from Business Energy Scotland and the support offered alongside this were fundamental.”
The trustees took advantage of a grant from the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), managed by Local Energy Scotland, to fund the heat pump. They also took out a Scottish Government interest-free SME loan with cashback to finance the rest of the work.
Business Energy Scotland programme director Douglas Harding said: “We were very pleased to help Kilchrenan Village Hall make the changes necessary to keep going as a community space. This is a great example of how upgrades can provide a far improved service, while also reducing costs and emissions in the future.
“The efforts of every business supported by Business Energy Scotland not only help them save energy but also help Scotland to play its part in tackling climate change and achieve its net-zero goals.”
For more information on Business Energy Scotland, visit tracking.strand-pr.co.uk/tracking/click?d%3DMyxYOpGyUFPXMcxZgsOphM6wjGYeCh_09Iijkatgvax-fb3wutYiQUfZH-63HEqOSqXAzeCoCkmU5yHOatuZz3UEN2DlU7hwaKIz9DO6W-uHwbq3BLJhjmYDVozyImH2X9UcK2rEDhCodmRcKkKYVQw1&source=gmail&ust=1714053062858000&usg=AOvVaw2Z5-n1-Hn9_0hUAd8A5zOI">https://
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