Energy

Sustainable energy management at Sheepdrove Eco Conference centre is about efficiency firstly, then sourcing low-carbon energy and also, where possible, generating low-carbon or zero-carbon energy on site.

Our great green energy features, in summary:

• Our electricity is 100% renewable
• A solar heating panel is used to preheat the water supply for the boilers to ensure that they run at maximum efficiency, using less energy to warm up
• Underfloor heating efficiently warms the conference centre
• Only two small gas fired boilers are required to heat the whole of the building due to the high levels of insulation; the building is partly cut into the ground to increase its thermal mass and so limit heat loss and high performance double glazing has been used throughout
• Controls allow areas of the building not in use to be shut down and the controls are monitored so the amount of energy used is known
• Heat exchangers are used on the kitchen extractor to recover waste heat
• Highly efficient compact fluorescent lamps are used throughout
• Natural daylight bathes the interior, saving on artificial lighting
• Passive air ventilation take advantage of the natural 'chimney effect' of the building shape. Vents on the windows allow controlled airflow, so opening a window is not always needed to freshen a room
• Air intake to the Oak Room passes over the wall radiators to attenuate temperature change

We hope to do even more in future.