Summary

Founded in 1884 just off Lavender Hill in Battersea, south-west London, Devas Youth Club provides a range of activities and services for young people every day. The club also leases office space to small social enterprises that work with young people, both in the UK and around the world, to improve educational outcomes and the well-being and confidence of young people and local residents at risk of isolation.

The club had already installed solar power and was keen to become a sustainability beacon in the local community, which would give it the opportunity to engage and educate young people in sustainability topics. It is working with community energy group CREW Energy Wandsworth to achieve its goal of a 5% reduction in emissions per year, over three years.

Phase 1 – Complete

In 2019, CREW Energy achieved a community energy first by installing LED lighting and a building management system during phase 1 of the transformation project at Devas Club. This will cut energy usage by 25%, amounting to a carbon saving of 11.72 tonnes per annum and a combined total of £3,400 saved on the club’s energy bills. These savings can be reinvested in core service delivery to club members and other community groups.

Phase 2 & 3 – Pending

In 2020, plans are underway for phase 2, the installation of more LED lighting, secondary glazing and destratifiers, which is scheduled for the summer. This will be followed by phase 3 – a heat pump system – in the autumn. These additional phases are dependent on funding bids with the Wandsworth Local Fund and crowdfunding respectively, and will be continually reassessed as the situation around the coronavirus develops.

Locality: Battersea, London

Asset Owner: Devas Youth Club

CEG: CREW Energy

Energy & money saved: 11.72 tonnes of CO2e per annum = £3,400 per annum

Tech used: Phase 1: solar panels, LED lighting and Hydromx within the heating system

“We are delighted to have installed LED lighting and a building management system throughout the youth centre, not only to save running costs, but to help us fulfil our target of reducing our emissions by 5% per year over the next three years.

“This also helps us to engage our young members in the climate change debate. We look forward to running energy saving sessions in future.”

– Johnny Devas, Director of Devas Club

Benefits to Asset Owner

  • Benefit 1: Significant reduction in running costs (£3,400/year) at no cost to the asset owner
  • Benefit 2: Visible contribution to their climate goals (down 5% per year over three years) as a community group tackling climate change
  • Benefit 3: Engaging young members in the climate change discussion

Benefits to Community Energy Group

  • Benefit 1: Reduction in carbon emissions (11.72 tonnes of CO2e per annum)
  • Benefit 2: Engaging the local community, especially young people, in climate action through energy advice sessions
  • Benefit 3: Establishing a replicable model to share knowledge with other community energy groups and build technical reports for asset owners/project leaders which will help inspire new, similar projects

How it was funded

This project was fully financed by grants and funding.

Phase 1

In December 2018, CREW was awarded £12,500 in funding by the UKPN Power Partners fund to work with Devas Club. The funding was used to install LEDs and a Building Management System (BMS) to help make the club building more energy efficient. The project was subsidised by additional funding from the GLA London Community Energy Fund for community outreach work.

Phase 2

CREW have since put in a bid for £27,000 worth of funding from the Wandsworth Local Fund for a second phase. This will cover the installation of more LED lighting to save energy, as well as secondary glazing, hydromx and stratifiers to help with heat efficiency and circulation.

Phase 3

Following phase 2, there are additional plans to crowdfund an air-source heat pump system to further boost the club’s energy efficiency.