Longstanding ELGP member Tony Seaford describes his own particular green journey.

31 January 2022

 

Every ELGP member has their own green journey and circumstances.

Longstanding  member Tony Seaford has helped ELGP in many ways serving as Chair, candidate, election agent and meeting host.

Let's hear his story!

 

“Originally from Bristol, I’ve had three diverse careers across 5 decades. Starting out as a Mechanical Engineer for the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1951 I worked on projects such as Supersonic aircraft, Concorde and Satellites. By 1964 I moved into computing with IBM which took me all over the country. More recently I turned my lifetime hobby into a business, becoming an Audio Products retailer, designing and developing loudspeakers which continues into my 88^th year!

“Early to recognise the issue of Climate Change, with my wonderful singer and pianist wife Mary, we decided to lower our carbon footprint with our own resources.  

1. We insulated our 1960’s detached bungalow with 75mm of Kingspan between all the rafters in the roof, and filled the cavity walls with insulation. This reduced the heating bill by 50%.
2. We changed to a ‘green’ electricity supplier.
3. We added 28 Solar PV panels and 2 Solar Thermal panels to our roof.
4. We replaced our gas boiler with an Air Source Heat Pump and removed the gas supply pipe.
5. We added a Tesla Storage battery to the system in order to use more of the electricity generated.
6. We replaced our diesel engined cars with a couple of hybrids, then later, replaced one with an all electric car (Nissan LEAF).
7. We replaced 6 double glazed windows with Triple Glazing.

“We keep every room at a minimum of 21.5 degrees C at all times during the year. The heat pump has managed this even when the outside temperature dropped to -10 degrees C. The Government Renewable Heat Incentive has returned to us over the 7-year period more than the original £9k that it cost to install. And the running costs are less than it was for gas.

“We are also founder members of the Read and Simonstone Environmental Group that was set up in 2019 to improve the state of the village by litter picking, planting bulbs in the roadside verges and working to reduce the use of plastic. We are doing what we can to help the community go green and reduce our carbon footprint.

“The only lifestyle changes that we have made in 'going green' since 2000 have been to stop flying and to halve our meat consumption, neither of which has been any problem.”

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