Water and energy compliance specialist GENEX has helped a Harrogate hospice secure a £50,000 grant to enable it to improve its energy efficiency and reduce its impact on the environment, with the cost of the improvements predicted to be recouped within two and a half years.
GENEX, which has been carrying out energy audits, offering renewable energy advice and providing Energy Performance Certificates for commercial buildings for more than 12 years, carried out the work free of charge for Saint Michael’s Hospice as part of its ethos of giving back to the local community.
The activity saw GENEX MD Carl Cressey carry out an in-depth energy audit of the hospice’s ten-bedroom inpatient site, Crimple House, looking at elements such as the overall fabric of the building, its heating, lighting and other electricity consumption.
Carl identified potential annual savings of more than £26,000, requiring an investment of just over £64,000, which would pay for itself within 2.42 years.
The detailed report means the hospice has been able to secure a grant from an external funder which will pay £50,000 towards the recommended measures, making the site more energy efficient.
Saint Michael’s aims to have completed the improvements by the end of 2023.
Carl, a qualified ESOS lead assessor, CIBSE low carbon consultant and chartered engineer with Energy Institute, will return to the hospice a year after all the recommended changes have been put in place to monitor their impact.
He explained: “We are very keen to support organisations in our community which play a role in improving the lives of local people. Saint Michael’s Hospice is a charity close to the hearts of many in Harrogate and the surrounding area and some of our team here at GENEX have friends or family who have been supported by the incredible, caring services it offers to people in the final stages of their lives.
“We’re proud that the report’s findings have resulted in the hospice being promised this sizeable grant, which will go a long way towards the delivery of the recommendations we made. This will allow the hospice to reduce its annual energy costs significantly, while improving environmental conditions for patients and staff.”
Saint Michael’s provides care and support for families living with terminal illness and bereavement across the Harrogate district, from its Crimple House Hospice and in the community.
Saint Michael’s chief executive Tony Collins said: “We’re delighted to have secured a grant of £50,000 to improve our environmental footprint, a key element of our organisational strategy, as well as improve our energy efficiency at our Crimple House Hospice. Thank you to GENEX, Carl and the team for their fantastic support and donating their time to identify these measures.”
- (caption) Saint Michael’s Hospice partnerships manager Michael White joins GENEX MD Carl Cressey, whose audit has enabled the hospice to secure a £50,000 grant to help fund energy efficiency improvements which will pay for themselves in less than two and a half years
