Peckham Power Post

Events coming up

The Real Thing: Fold Up Bikes

Photo by Peddle Power Pete

Thursday, 17 June 2010 7:00pm - 9:00pm, 55 Blenheim Grove

Come along to join a relaxed conversation about the pros and cons of fold-up bikes from people who actually have experience of fold-up bikes in Peckham.

Peckham Power Members’ Event…

Will be on Saturday 3 July, refreshments from 1pm, formal meeting to start at 2pm.  

• Practical discussion about loft insulation  (Jack Kelly and Clyde Watson) 
• what we want Peckham Power’s priorities to be over the next 6 months - and beyond?

Location to be confirmed.  We will email with details.  Or keep an eye on the website page for the event.

Green Jobs conference on 22 June

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) are holding a one-day conference about green jobs, and particularly how to include and build on the experience of the many grassroots community groups in this area, and how to enable the development of green jobs to be socially inclusive and promote economic re-generation.  The experiences of Peckham Power are being used as a case study to inform the conference, and we will also be attending the event.

TTP Renewables Energy Explanation and Funding Advice Event

Transition Town Peckham have very kindly invited Peckham Power to join an event at the end of June providing introductory explanations about how renewable energy sources work and funding advice that they are holding with the support of Creative Energy Networks.  More details to follow nearer the time.

Reports on current projects and past events:

Power Meter project report

We’re continuing to make steady progress on our power meter project.  Hugo Schonbeck from GPX visited two new local renewable electricity sites last week (1st Place Family and Children’s Centre, Sarawak Court) to work out what the technical requirements are for their electricity production to be included in our project, so we look forward to these sites being included in our project in due course.  Many thanks to Hugo for dealing with these tricky technical aspects.

Our draft animation about the project has been shown to some local school-children (thank you to New Gumboots After-School Club) and to a local youth group by a local youth worker (thank you to Andrew Alleyne and Edward James for organising that), and will be shown to the school council at St John’s and St Clement’s Primary School on 9 June.  Thanks too to Pippa Krishnan, our Cleaner Greener Safer officer at London Borough of Southwark who has suggested some new school contacts for us.  

Giona Fiorentino, who’s studying for an MSc in Environmental Design at Goldsmith’s, has very kindly improved our draft animation.  We think it looks really good now – what do you think?

Thanks to the hard work of Bert de Vries at AVIC (the website that collects all the data for the project) we’re also making progress with the consumption meters part of the project.  We will be test-driving 5 households with the consumption meters over the next couple of months.  

Dulwich Fayre

We had a really enjoyable time talking to local people at the Dulwich Fayre on Goose Green on Sunday 9 May, especially focusing on their experiences of loft insulation.  We got a very interesting range of responses, from people not knowing what loft insulation was, to those who knew about it but couldn’t get in to their loft because it had no hatch, and those who wanted to get loft insulation done but pay for it gradually in instalments.  This has been very useful in our ongoing discussions with Creative Energy Networks about what is needed for an effective cavity and loft insulation project in the local area.  

the real thing… solar hot water

Our first workshop bringing together those “Peckham Pioneers” who have already adopted a low carbon technology and those who want to learn more happened on Wednesday 12 May, and was attended by 9 people.  Many thanks to Gill, Benedict and Josephine who gave us their valuable time explaining what their experiences of solar thermal hot water systems had been.  We all found it very useful, and are particularly pleased that it was useful for the speakers too.

A write-up of the event can be found on our website

a photo of one the solar thermal panels that Benedict talked at the event.  Many thanks to Benedict O'Looney for the photo.

Discussions with Creative Energy Networks about local insulation project

We are having discussions with Creative Energy Networks, an energy-focused company that includes insulation installers and energy advice provision, about the delivery of a local insulation project [for both cavity walls and lofts].  Jack Kelly and Clyde Watson who both have technical expertise in this area have been carefully considering all the technical factors that need to be included in loft insulation in particular.  We shall keep you updated about the discussions as they progress.

Upcoming event: “The Real Thing: Solar Hot Water”

• Wednesday 12 May, 6:30pm
• The Montpelier Pub, 43 Choumert Road, Peckham SE15 4AR (map)

Two different types of solar thermal panels (both photos taken by Johny M)

Three local people with experience of using solar hot water will share their experiences with us on Wednesday 12 May at 6.30pm, in The Montpelier pub, 43 Choumert Road, Peckham SE15 4AR (map).  Come along to hear about solar thermal systems from local people who actually have first hand experience living with solar thermal systems, not salespeople.  We look forward to seeing you there!   Many thanks to Momo, the new manager of The Montpelier, for agreeing to host this event. 

Updates

Power Meter project

A quick re-cap: the Peckham Power Meter Project has two broad aims:

• to provide Smart Meters to Peckham Residents to help us to manage our electricity consumption more effectively
• to measure and collect live information about renewable electricity production in the area and to display this on our website and in public spaces

We're currently developing the project and we're thrilled that we’ve now got connections to two local renewable electricity sites and we're successfully collecting live production data.  Hooray!  Many thanks to Donnachadh McCarthy’s photo-voltaic panels, and the wind turbine at TRUE (Trust for Urban Ecology) at Rotherhithe.

The TRUE wind turbine on the left with Canary Wharf in the background

A close-up of the TRUE wind turbine from which we're now collecting data

The grey box on the right is the communications device that Hugo has installed for us.  It collects the production data and sends it over the local cellphone network.  Ultimately this data will drive our online graph.

Live production data from the wind turbine. This graph is just a proof of concept. One of our next tasks is to commission a piece of web software which will make more user-friendly graphs.

The next stage is to get this local renewable electricity production information displayed on our website live, and we’re waiting to hear back from a website designer who may be able build the necessary software.  If you know someone who could help us display graphs on our website that are updated with live data, please get in touch. We're also exploring the possibility of including 1st Place at Burgess Park, and the CHP (Combined Heat and Power plant) at Sarawak Court, Consort Road, as local renewable electricity sites. 

We’ve developed the electricity consumption side of the project sufficiently to mean that we can now start test the equipment in real life situations.

The AlertMe base station

The AlertMe clamp simply hugs the power cable; it doesn't cut into the power cable.  The AlertMe clamp communicates wirelessly with the base station.

We will start testing the AlertMe meters in 5 homes within the next couple of weeks.  Many thanks to our volunteers for this: Jack, Caswell, Zaria, Magda, and Elsie.  The volunteers will be able to keep track of their consumption on the AlertMe website

Jack's energy consumption as shown on the AlertMe website. The tall, thin spikes are the kettle and toaster. The regular bumps along the bottom are the fridge's compressor turning on and off.

Please contact us if you would like to take part in the project and learn about how to reduce your energy use at home as well as learning more about renewable electricity.  Or you can learn more about the Power Meter project on our website.

Vote for Renewable Power!

Have you voted for power yet on our website?  Even if you feel fed up with elections and voting, we'd really like you to support us in our campaign to get more community-owned renewable power production, so please vote for renewable power on our website.

Report from Green Fair in AREA10 on Saturday 17 April

We had a great time at our green fair with the 150 or so people who attended.  The driving simulator, grant advice and demonstration house and loft insulation stall were particularly successful, and the refreshments provided by The Frog on the Green delicious.

The Energy Saving Trust's driving simulator

Dr Bike.  Fixing bikes.

The new Peckham Power Energy Efficiency Model House, funded by a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Peckham Community Council award.

Discussing Peckham Power's draught busting project

Thanks go to all our volunteers who helped on the day, especially Daniel, David and André, EST/CENfor supporting the event and their staff team who helped on the day, Laura McCrea from London Borough of Southwark for her assistance in getting us Dr Bike, and supplying all the information on walking and cycling, The Frog on the Green for the catering and Southwark Greenpeace for welcoming people so well.

Website Changes

We’ve updated our website, trying to make it easier to use, with new, short pages on our current andfuture projects, and more photos.  We've got other improvements planned, so we’ll keep you informed about these as they happen.

We’re trying out keeping a 10:10 diary on our website, as an example of what it’s really like focusing on reducing your energy use at home.  Take a look and comment on the posts.  We'd love to include some more 10:10 diaries on the website.  If you'd like to share your 10:10 experiences on our website or if you're already keeping a 10:10 blog elsewhere then please let us know.

Goodbye and Thank You…

to Polly Raymond who coordinated and helped us organise all our meetings, a vital and huge task,  thank you for all your hard work, especially helping co-ordinate our Low Carbon Communities Challenge bid.  Best wishes for your other activities in Peckham – we hope you will be back in the near future.

Peckham Power and the Peckham Experiment

We were asked to give a presentation about our activities and how this related to the principles of the Pioneer Health Centre (also known as the Peckham Experiment), at a seminar on Thursday 22 April.  The Pioneer Health Centre was an exploration of what made for people’s health, rather than a study of disease, based in the Peckham area between the 1920’s and 1950’s.  It was a really informative event, attended by some very interesting people, and was particularly interesting to learn how many of the principles developed 70 years ago are still really relevant today.  Thank you to the Pioneer Health Foundation for inviting us.

You can see the slides of our presentation here

Newsletter feedback

Was this newsletter too long?  Not enough detail?  Too many photos?  Too few photos?  Please tell us your thoughts.

Contact Us

• You can e-mail us: info [at] peckhampower [dot] org
• Twitter: twitter.com/peckhampower
• Phone: 020 7617 7650
• Or take part in our online discussions:  for example, active discussions at present include:
  • Developing our community Loft Insulation Project
  • Planning a group trip
  • Developing our online map of local renewables and energy efficiency installations

Upcoming Diary Dates

• 17th April 2010 Peckham Power and Energy Saving Trust team up for an Energy Saving showcase event. The event will be held in Area10 which is in the Eagle Wharf building in Peckham Square just behind Peckham Library. This will be a practical, hands-on event with demonstrations on loft insulation, sustainable energy workshops and driving simulators.Read the rest of this post

Issue 2, February 2010

Upcoming Diary Dates

13th March 2010 Peckham Power’s Spring Members Event - We are planning the first of our regular quarterly events on the 13th March including speakers and reports from the frontline of energy saving. You are invited to join us for lunch at 1pm and the event starts at 2pm.  More details to follow shortly. 

17th April 2010 Peckham Power and Energy Saving Trust team up for an Energy Saving showcase event The event will be held in Area10 which is in the Eagle Wharf building in Peckham Square just behind Peckham Library. This will be a practical, hands-on event with demonstrations on loft insulation, sustainable energy workshops and driving simulators.

Get Involved

Draught-Busters Wanted: We’re keen to find more people to join Peckham and Nunhead residents taking advantage of our fantastic value Draught-Busting workshops. If you know anybody suffering from rattly windows and scary energy bills, tell them about us!

Calling Pioneering Power Producers: We want to hear from anybody producing their own power locally to take part in our innovative GPX Power Meter project.

Exploring New Technologies: Interested in exploring the potential of new services and technologies including loft insulation, solar power and secondary glazing?  Contact us - e-mail and phone at end of newsletter

Please join us:  In order to help us enable everyone in Peckham and Nunhead use and produce energy sustainably, we always need more supporters...   To apply to join, all you need to do is let us know that you would like to become a member. You can do that by e-mail to jack [at] peckhampower [dot] org

News and Updates

Cleaner, Greener, Safer (CGS) bids – Peckham Power made a range of applications to London Borough of Southwarks CGS funding pot for projects including additional power metering funding, a portable energy-efficient dolls house and a portable energy efficient lighting display. We will keep you updated of developments.

Low Carbon Communities Challenge (LCCC) Funding – Unfortunately, Peckham Power were unsuccessful in bidding for funding through this DECC challenge. We will forward feedback when we have it.

GPX Power Meter Project - PP has been designing a way to display results from this innovative metering project and is awaiting a feasibility assessment from technology partner Avic. We will be testing the display with local school-children soon; contact us if you want to take part.

About Peckham Power:

Peckham Power is run by and for local residents in Peckham and Nunhead. We exist to help people - no matter what their income - to generate and to use energy sustainably. We also aim to provide advice and skills to people who want to install, maintain and develop local energy generation and efficiency measures.

Website: www.peckhampower.org; email: info [at] peckhampower [dot] org; phone: 020 7617 7650

Issue 1, January 2010

Not just talk - real action!

Draught-proofing workshops - Peckham Power is having real impact. In autumn 2009, we draught-busted five homes in Peckham and we’re looking for more to do right now. People really value the service: "I thoroughly recommend having your windows draught-busted - Anna and the team were very friendly, efficient, easy to have around and in just a couple of hours my sash windows have been transformed from being rattly and draughty to snug and air tight" said one Peckham resident. If you'd like to host a draft-proofing workshop to keep out the arctic winds, get in touch. It's only £15 per window and takes half a day and you have fun - what a bargain!

GPX Power Metering project - Peckham Power has started to roll out its pioneering energy meter technology. Our technology partner GPX’s approach to power metering is unique because it will measure production as well as consumption simultaneously. We will use sensors for individual appliances (e.g. kettles, washing machines) to show how much energy they use and money they cost. The first home to get the renewable energy meter is that of local eco-celebrity Donnachadh McCarthy. We’ll keep you posted on how things are going there and provide information as to how to get involved.

Secondary Glazing - Peckham Power is exploring the possibility of an affordable secondary glazing service, ideally with local business partners. Some discussions are already underway - if you have any ideas about this, please get in touch.

We're Legal! Please join us

Peckham Power has now formally adopted a constitution. This makes us an organisation with a membership who will have a say in what we do, who runs things and how. We hope that, as someone who has expressed an interest in Peckham Power's activities, you will join us as a member.

To apply to join, all you need to do is let us know that you would like to become a member. You can do that by e-mail to jack [at] peckhampower [dot] org . If you don't have e-mail access, please just drop us a note at Peckham Power, 240 Bellenden Road, Peckham, London SE15 4BY

Details of the constitution and membership: The constitution contains the rules that govern how the organisation works and that all members agree to.  You can view the constitution online at http://peckhampower.org/wiki/our-constitution .  If you don't have web access we will be happy to send you a hard copy on request.  We agreed last year that the constitution will be kept under review during the next few months.  We'll be asking members to participate in the discussions that will lead to a revised constitution.  In legalese, we are an unincorporated charitable association.  The Steering Group members are the trustees.  The constitution is likely to need changes to make it acceptable to the Charities Commission.  Eventually we may move towards becoming a company.  We may also set up a separate company to operate the kind of local energy supply scheme we would like to develop. We don't charge a membership fee, but if you can afford to make a small donation that would be a big help to our work. We will tell you how to do this when you express your interest in becoming a member.We will keep any personal information you give us confidential.  We will only use it in connection with your membership of Peckham Power and keeping in touch with you with news and information about activities relevant to the organisation's objects.

Calling Peckham's Renewable Renewable energy producers 

If you are a household or business already producing renewable energy we'd love to include you in our GPX Power Metering Project (mentioned above). The plan is to show how much renewable energy Peckham is producing on a single, freely available, live display.  It'll show "Peckham Power" - literally!  Willing to give it a try? Contact us through the website or by email anna [at] peckhampower [dot] org

Fingers crossed for funding applications

Low Carbon Communities Challenge  On 30 December 2009 Peckham Power submitted an application to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Low Carbon Communities Challenge for funds to invest in renewable energy panels (for electricity or hot water) on a range of Peckham households, businesses and public sector institutions accompanied by the setting up of a community-owned social enterprise to manage the finances. We’ll let you know how the application fared.

We are very grateful to the 25 organisations and individuals who provided letters of support: AREA10 artists' project; Bells Garden Tenants & Residents Association; BTCV; Chronic Love Foundation; Complete Fabrication; DRTS Ltd; Friends of the Earth Southwark; Friary Environment Network; Friends of Warwick Gardens; GPX; Green Fayre Peckham; Growing Southwark; Jenny Jones; Laura McRea (Sustainable Transport Department, London Borough of Southwark); Margaret O'Brien (London Borough of Southwark); Michael Carrnucio (London Borough of Southwark); Northfield House Tentants & Residents Association (NHTRA); Nunhead & Peckham Rye Community Council; Peckham Vision; South London Baptist Tabernacle‏ Church; St John's & St Clements Primary School; Tommy's Wear and Cheer; Transition Town Peckham (TTP); Wandle Housing Association

Cleaner, Greener, Safer (CGS) bids – Peckham Power made a range of applications to London Borough of Southwark's CGS funding pot for projects including additional energy metering funding, a portable energy-efficient dolls house and a portable energy efficient lighting display.

Energy Saving Trust keen to support Peckham Power

Peckham Power are delighted that the Energy Saving Trust (EST) has selected us to become one of five communities to be supported through its ‘Light Touch’ initiative. EST recognise the potential of connecting with community groups like Peckham Power that are well embedded in their neighbourhood and are taking real action. EST and Peckham Power are currently exploring the possibility of co-producing an energy saving promotional event in the Spring and providing training in loft insulation for Peckham.

Diary Date – Peckham Power Members Event

We are planning a fantastic event in March including speakers and reports from the renewable energy frontline. We will be planning this event in the next few weeks and will give you full details and confirm the date in the next ‘Peckham Power Post’ newsletter.

Keeping you updated

We’re starting the new year with a new communications plan. We are aiming to get regular newsletters out and will be publishing minutes from meetings which you will be able to view on the "meetings" page of our website. Sorry this issue is so long (we had a lot to report!). We aim to keep them short and sweet in future. Please contact us on jack [at] peckhampower [dot] org if you have any queries.