A member of the Energy Communities Tipperary Cooperative hopes they can encourage behavioral changes.
Marcella Keogh says the group’s work in Upperchurch Drumbane around retrofitting paved the way for future projects across the county and now into Limerick and Clare for groups
She says that retrofitting can be expensive so they have begun rolling out workshops and one on one consultations to help people save energy at home.
Marcella told Tipp Today that there are simple things that people can do if they feel some options such as solar panels are too costly :
“reduce the temperature of your washing machine, not using your tumble dryer, having your fridge laid out in a way so that when you open the door you just get the thing you want quickly, the freezer is another big one that actually uses a lot of energy… switching off appliances on standby… and it is amazing how much energy you would save.”
The energy Communities Tipperary Cooperative is aiming to teach people about saving energy ‘in a fun way’.
This group was established in 2014 and has grown to help a number of communities across the county in areas such a retrofitting and installation of solar panels, and have since moved into bordering counties to offer support to people there.
They recently received training in Normandy, when a group travelled over to learn more about spreading the message of energy conservation.
Marcella Keogh form the local cooperative say they now intend to pass on that knowledge here to all ages and demographics:
“we are having workshops we are going into schools we are going to have one on ones with those who really need help as well, with a little bit of help from the council as well. So we are spreading it out behavioural change, doing simple things that you are hearing on the radio all the time.”
