Our Net Zero journey

Following the 2024 Annual General Meeting we embarked on a number of initiatives, including:

PHASE ONE

1. July 2024 - Public Consultation - to listen to the views of Tysoe's parishioners and hall users about the proposed programme of hall improvements. A good number of villagers attended, with much interaction and good debate across a number of suggested workstreams. The audience unanimously supported the hall to progress with a Planning Application to install a number of solar (correctly photo voltaic) panels and associated equipment on the Quo Vadis (opposite to the Methodist Church) hall roof. As part of the session, photographic mockups of how the hall would look were presented.
2. July 2024 - Planning Application submitted to Stratford on Avon Council - final decision expected by end of September
3. October 2024 - Planning Permission granted, commencement of grant application funding.
4. July 2025 - installation of two destratification fans, funded in part by Stratford District Council, which recirculate warmer air in the main hall down to floor level, equalising room temperature and reducing energy consumption.
5. November 2025 - following grant application success, plus a generous local donor, 45 panels and 23kWh of battery storage were installed and commissioned. As at the end of June 2026, the hall has been 60% self-sufficient in energy usage, whilst exporting 8,500kWh of surplus energy to the grid.

PHASE TWO

Following the success of Phase One, the committee reviewed which additional projects would enhance the hall, both for comfort and to reduce our energy consumption.

1. July 2026 - following a further review of the solar solution project, the hall committee approved a further set of Net Zero related projects, described in further detail below, coering heating and insulation enhancements. Each will be funded through grant applications, donations and any funds raised by events that are not required for the day to day running of the hall or for essential repairs.

Our current heating solution is now over a decade old and has proved to be reliable, but costly and noisy to run. More modern approaches in community buildings favour the use of heat pump technologies.

What are the benefits - Air to Air heat pumps bring multiple benefits. As well as consuming less than a third of the electricity of the current heating, they also can act as air conditioners and cool the hall. With recent experience of classes and hirings being cancelled, plus reports from other Village Halls of their efficiency, this will project will bring significant comfort benefits.

Current project status:

1. July 2026 - Fundraising through events and grant submissions commenced
2. August 2026 - Planning Application submitted

The solar project battery solution was designed to be scalable, in order that additional capacity could be installed without compromising previous investments. Our battery solution can take eight 4.66kWh modules - rather like slices of pizza. Our inverter has been installed at a height which allows the additional batteries, of which we can accomodate another four, to be added either all at once, or piecemeal.

What are the benefits - more battery storage allows the hall to purchase energy at an advantageous rate, usually overnight when the hall is empty. Whilst in summer months the hall is a net exporter of energy, in colder months and with increased heating usage, the savings from using energy purchased during"off peak" periods are significant.

Current project status:

1. July 2026 - Fundraising through events and grant submissions

The loft floors above the main hall, kitchen and McNulty Room were laid with 300mm of Rockwool-style insulation in 2014. Since then it has been disturbed during essential works and in addition has settled, reducing its ability to retain warm air during the winter and to protect the hall from the high temperatures generated via the metal roof during the summer permeating into the hiring spaces below.

What are the benefits - increasing the depth of the loft insulation by another 200mm will ensure that energy is not wasted heating the hall during the winter and that internal temperatures are kept lower during our increasingly hot summers.

Current project status:

1. July 2026 - Fundraising through events and grant submissions