Events, House visit

Homes opening this weekend 12-13 Nov

Do pass on this invitation to visit homes around Sheffield and see their energy improvements – talk to the hosts about the real-life experience of retrofit!

What methods do they trust? Who are the best builders? What’s it like to live with the technology? Find out more about all the homes and opening times here: http://sheffield.greenopenhomes.net/green-homes-sheffield-2…

We have 13 homes open, across Sheffield, from Burngreave to beyond Stannington, and from Crookes to Meersbrook. Regular favourites such as the low-impact extension at Fireside and the 1930s Superhome in Edgedale Road, plus 2 completely new homes to view, which we are very excited about…

In Southgrove Road we have a family home with significant improvements including an extension. In Heeley, REACH homes are opening their prototype affordable home built from shipping containers, using recycled materials!

Pass on the news to your friends and workmates – get involved in our network for greener homes in Sheffield!

Events

The Future of Buildings in Sheffield

Green Homes Sheffield is proud to be supporting a great event on Wed 9 November: “The Future of Buildings – a retrofit showcase”. The event has been organised under the banner of Zero Carbon Yorkshire, by a wide group of organisations passionate about making our Sheffield  buildings fit for the future.  We hope to see you there – please book online and find out more here.

And the following weekend, 11-13 Nov, we have an Open Homes event, your chance to visit homes across the city who have been improving their energy performance… all the details are here.

Events

Sustainable Homes Discovery Event, 6 April 5-8pm

Green Homes Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University have jointly organised a Sustainable Homes Discovery event in the early evening of Wednesday 6 April, to share knowledge, practice, and connections about making homes in Sheffield more sustainable for the future.

 General participants book here         Exhibitors book here

SUSTAINABLE HOMES DISCOVERY EVENT – speakers’ programme v2

This event will take place in the central Atrium in the University, from 5pm-8pm, including displays from local businesses and housing organisations, and a programme of talks and discussions.  Presentations from practitioners and researchers will highlight the challenges, opportunities, and strategies available for retrofitting Sheffield homes to make them fit for a low-energy future.

Our speakers include academic experts covering topics such as domestic energy consumption trends, zero carbon housing design, community energy projects, and housing modernisation, and professional practitioners who will speak about the practicalities and different options for insulation retrofit, and energy generation. 

The exhibition displays include a range of experts in building technologies, suppliers of insulation, energy generation and energy recovery products.

Attendance is free of charge (both for stallholders and other participants), and we hope you’ll be able to join us with your questions and your insights. Online booking is now available via the links below:

General participants book here

Exhibitors book here

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Events, News

Discover the way to sustainable homes…

Green Homes Sheffield is organising a Sustainable Homes Discovery event in the early evening of Wednesday 6 April in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University, to share knowledge, practice, and connections about making homes in Sheffield more sustainable for the future.

We’re excited that this event will take place in the Heartspace of SHU, within the Atrium,  from 5pm-8pm, including displays from local businesses and housing organisations, and a programme of talks and discussions.  Presentations from practitioners and researchers  will highlight the challenges, opportunities, and strategies available for retrofitting Sheffield homes to make them fit for a low-energy future.

A range of organisations, businesses, and practitioners are being invited to contribute (e.g. Green Building Store, the Association for Environmentally Conscious Building, and Sustainable Building consultants) and the event is expected to attract homeowners, staff and students from SHU,  and organisations concerned about sustainable housing.  It will be a great opportunity to showcase expertise and opportunities around home energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Attendance will be free of charge (both for stallholders and other participants), and we hope you’ll be able to join us.

Online booking will be available soon, but please get in touch if you’re interested in a display space, or in speaking at the event, or if you have any questions!

House visit, News

Ready, steady, pedal!

It’s definitely not a race, but you could say it’s a marathon – a cycle  tour taking in no less  than 11 of our Green Homes Sheffield hosts! On Sunday 4th October we invite you to join us, and our friends from CycleSheffield and Sheffield Friday Night Ride, for a grand tour, paced to include everyone, and definitely not including Jenkin Road…

You can book for this ride here and find out all about the homes that we will visit here. Wherever you join us, please be prompt, so we can keep up with our busy schedule. To whet your appetite, here are some of the attractions:

First stop after leaving Barkers Pool will be Burngreave, where two contrasting homes are on view. Fireside Housing Co-op consists of 4 terraced houses which have had a low-impact extension built to replace their old offshot kitchens. At Barnsley Road you’ll see examples of different kinds of insulation, solar panels and efficient glazing.

In Meersbrook there are two alternative options to look at – either a brilliant example of internal wall insulation, or some amazing new triple-glazed windows – you choose!

Then we are off again, to visit a ‘typical semi’ but with a world of difference in its energy use. This is a ‘Superhome’ where radical changes have been made to ensure low energy usage.

Deeper into Nether Edge we have another choice – this time between a home with internal insulation installed by the owner, or a chance to see the ‘before and after’ of how sliding sash windows can be renovated to make them energy efficient and cosy.

The next stop is lunch at Strip the Willow cafe, but also a chance to see the recycled Innotherm insulation they have installed.

Then we cycle to Ecclesall Road and visit two large Victorian terraced homes, each with many energy-saving features, including external and internal wall insulation, renovated windows, and solar PV panels.

Next we take a steady route to Crookes, where we will see a small terraced house in one of the most exposed sites in Sheffield, which has had insulation and draught-proofing brought up to a high standard, and where the owner can explain up-to-date facts on getting PV panels.

Finally, our road goes to Stannington and beyond, to Green Directions, where we can see the renewable energy generation that powers their well-insulated barn conversion now used as a venue for weddings and events.  (This last longer section of the ride is optional – indeed you are welcome to join just one part of the tour rather than the whole day – options are available on the booking site.)

We hope you can join us for an interesting day out, and please remember that many of these homes are also open at other times on the weekends of 3-4th and 10-11th October, with all means of transport welcome!

Events, Volunteering

Autumn adventures on the way

On Sat 3rd, Sun 4th, Sat 10th and Sun 11th October, Green Homes Sheffield is offering another round of open homes, plus the chance to tour homes by bike on Sun 4th October! There will be around 20 homes of different shapes and sizes opening their door to you, across the city.

Whether you are planning a big building project, need to save money on energy, or simply want to tackle some tricky draught-proofing, there will be plenty to find out and be inspired by. All of our open home hosts have improved the energy saving properties of their home, and are generating renewable energy from the sun or have made changes to their lifestyle, e.g. their travel habits.

Many of these homes have benefited from the skills of local companies – designers, builders and installers – who are keen to offer their services.  See our ‘Who Can Help?’ directory to find out more.

We have teamed up with experienced cycle tour organisers to bring you the Green Homes Cycle Tour on Sun 4th October… more details very soon!

Like to get more involved? As well as hosts to open their home, we need volunteers to help in the office and assist on open days. Just drop us a line!

 

 

Volunteering

Join the Green Homes Sheffield team!

Interested in joining our Steering Group?

If you’d like to get more involved in Green Homes Sheffield, then joining the steering group might suit you. You’d be joining a small group of enthusiastic volunteers and would have the chance to make an important contribution to the project. We’re in a good position with funding in place and a series of events lined up, so this would be an exciting time to join the team.

The steering group meets about once a month, usually in a member’s home, and works closely with our project coordinator Jenny Patient. The group helps with planning and publicising our events, finding funding, generally getting stuff done and even throwing the odd party, so there are lots of ways you can contribute. Perhaps you’ve got a feel for running events, knowledge about green buildings, or a sense of how to use social media? Equally, if you are simply enthusiastic about what we do and willing to contribute some time and energy we’d love to hear from you.

The role description gives a more detailed picture of what’s involved and the sort of skills we’re looking for, so please do take a look.

If you’re interested then please do get in touch with Jenny for an informal chat.

We would also welcome enquiries from people willing to open their home to the public this October to show energy improvements they have made – do get in touch!

 

Uncategorized

From a rising portiere to a low impact extension…

I love my job with Green Homes Sheffield – I get to visit everyone’s home and see all the energy improvements. Sometime they are as plain as the nose on your face, cost thousands of pounds and take years of planning… but sometimes I find out about about a simple, low-cost innovation that can really help. A ‘rising portiere’ is a way of hanging a curtain on a door so that the curtain moves with the door instead of having to be drawn back each time – genius! See the photo below taken at Upper Valley Road.

20150427_115456

This weekend 16th and 17th May we have 12 homes open, with so many features ranging from simple £20 gadgets , to full scale architect-designed extensions such as that at Fireside Housing Co-op – do have a look and book up for Ecclesall Road homes this afternoon, and Burngreave, Meersbrook and Crookes homes tomorrow.  (And here’s a quiz to amuse you – how many of our Meersbrook green homes can you see in the photo above?)

Events, House visit

All aboard for the Tour de Green Homes Sheffield!

Bookings are now live for all 19 homes opening their doors to you on 9-10 and 16-17 May. Here’s  preview of what’s on offer and you can find full details at http://sheffield.greenopenhomes.net/ or using the links below – please book ahead for the tours you are interested in by following the green ‘Bookings’ link to the right of the home details.

On Saturday 9th May, Crookes and Stannington take the lead – you’ll find 2 homes in Crookes open in combination for tours at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm,  and Green Directions open (near Stannington) at 2.30pm.

On Sunday 10th May 2 contrasting homes in Sharrow are open alternately, at 10.30am, 11.45am, 1pm and 2.15pm, while the cafe nearby at Strip the Willow  will welcome you for a cuppa and a look at their Inno-therm insulation anytime between 11-4!

Saturday 16th May is the big day for Ecclesall Road homes, with a grand total of 4 terraced and semi-detached homes, open at 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm and 4pm respectively, with a wealth of features on display.

The grand finale of our Spring event is Sun 17th May, when 4 homes new to our network in Meersbrook open their doors at 10am, 11:15am, 12:30pm, 1:45pm and 3pm in varying combinations so you can visit them all! Meanwhile, over in Burngreave another 3 homes are on show in combination at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, with everything from draught-proofing to a low-impact extension for you to see.   And last but not least, a typical terrace in Crookes shows the way with insulation and draught-proofing at 10.30am, 1pm and 2.30pm.

We hope you’ll join us for a relaxed and informative tour of some of our Green Homes, and why not join our network to stay in touch and find out about helpful businesses for your own refurbishment project?

Thanks to local businesses High Efficiency Low Carbon, and Homeco for supporting our work with donations this year!  We have also received grant funding from Green Open Homes and from Sheffield Town Trust.

 

 

 

Events, News

Spring is in the air…

Spring is in the air, and we are pleased to announce our next Open Homes event, on 9-10 and 16-17 May.  It’s a great time to plan how to make your home warmer and cheaper to run next winter! Come and visit some of the Sheffield householders who have started on the road to energy efficient homes and want to share what they’ve learnt.

You can find all our open homes listed here and book for tours in different areas of Sheffield, looking at homes old and new, large and small, and all levels of project from draught-proofing to complete extensions.

As many as two-thirds of us worry about the cost of energy, and all the research shows that investing in energy efficiency is the most cost effective way to save on fuel and have a more comfortable home, so join us and get inspired this Spring!

 

Green Homes Sheffield