Bright ideas being acted upon in town

Each family received an energy ‘starter pack’ from NIE Energy containing an electricity monitor, a standby switch-off lead and some low-energy lightbulbs. This equipment will help people to get a clearer understanding of how much energy they actually use and begin to make the small changes that will save them money and reduce their personal impact on climate change.

“It’s a clear way to think global and act local”, said Declan McGivern from the Transition Town group.

Another group member, Rosalyn Davidson, has put her monitor to immediate use.

She told the TIMES: “The ‘background’ charge for electricity in my house is less than one penny an hour. As soon as I switch on the kettle, the monitor shows the cost shooting up to 18p an hour. If I put enough water in for just one cup of tea, it boils in less than 30 seconds. That’s a pretty good reason for not filling the kettle.”

Jim Kitchen examined the number of lightbulbs in his house.

“I was shocked to realise I have 81 lightbulbs throughout the house. I’ve already switched many of them to low-energy bulbs but I’ve still got a lot more to change.”

Neil Coleman from NIE Energy spoke to the group members, congratulating them on being one of six groups from all over Northern Ireland - and the only one in County Antrim - which has been awarded funding as part of the Big Energy Savings Challenge.

He said, “We’re delighted to be working with Transition Town Whitehead to help people take action to reduce their energy use. It’s good for people’s pockets and it’s good for the community.”

The Challenge has just started and will last for a year, during which the Whitehead group will carry out home energy audits, advise on home improvements and organise a series of events as part of their campaign to tackle climate change and address the threat of Peak Oil by building resilience within the Whitehead community.

For more details on their plans see the website www.transitiontownwhitehead.org.uk