Having been an organic gardener and allotment holder since the 70’s I was determined to apply Green Principles to my new business when I took over Henry House in 1997.

 

Here are some of the things we do to reduce our carbon footprint and ozone depletion, increase energy efficiency, recycle and promote sustainable transport.

 

Solar energy in Sunny Worthing!!

Living in the sunniest part of the UK we are ideally placed to use solar energy.

In January 2011 Suntrader Solar installed photo-voltaic panels on the flat roof over the pool, connected them to the grid  and we signed up to the governments FIT (feed in tariff) scheme. We now generate our own electricity which has drastically reduced bills plus we get paid for doing so!

In July 2003 James Simporis, of Palmoris Ltd , completed a Solar energy construction and installation course with LILI the Low Impact Living Initiative www.lowimpact.org

In September 2003 solar panels and cylinder were installed at Henry House to heat water (with gas back-up when necessary) for showers ,sinks ,washing etc. From May to  September  gas is now rarely  needed but with the shorter days some is required .Even in the winter the solar panels pre-heat the water and gas then bumps it up to the right temperature. This project paid for itself in 18 months.    

 

Water Conservation and Recycling

In 2004 Palmoris Ltd installed a rainwater collection and grey water recycling system.

Rainwater is collected as run off from our extensive roof area. It is filtered and treated  and then used to refill the pool each week as part of the pool maintenance programme.

The water taken out of the pool each week (grey water)  is stored and used to flush the 5 toilets in the building. We estimate that toilets are flushed  200 times + per day using  up to 400 gallons or 1600 litres a day. We never need to use mains water for this now.

We have managed to drastically reduce our water consumption with this project. As water charges continue to rise this will help us hold prices down. We’re always hoping for rain!!

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Ecosanitiser

At the start of 2012 we replaced our old water treatment system with an Ecosanitiser and the results have been outstanding.

Click here to read more

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Solar Power Shower

The electric shower poolside was replaced with a thermostatically controlled , tamper proof unit (according to NHS guidelines) using the solar heated water and mains pressure only.

“We are very impressed with the new system and have already  recouped the capital outlay  through reduced gas &  electric bills.” KS

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Bike for Bananas, Sustainable Transport

In August 2009 Bike racks were installed conveniently next to the entrance. For the first 2 weeks of the  September  term we gave  all customers young and old who biked to Henry House a free fair trade banana. We hope that this will encourage  our customers to leave the car at home while they take more exercise and eat healthily. This should also free up parking for our disabled clients. We  repeat this every year.

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At Henry House we are committed to reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and water in an effort to keep costs as low as possible (particularly as we provide a valuable service to the elderly and disabled) and to protect the environment.

With this in mind we carry out an energy audit every September and switch to the cheapest gas and electricity providers where possible.

We control use by having adequate double glazing, heat retention covers for the pool, pipe and loft insulation and the most energy efficient pumps for the pool.

We use low energy bulbs  throughout and closely monitor the use of light and heat.

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DEEP FLOW GUTTERING AND A THROUGH PIPE

We noticed that during heavy rain a lot of water gushed over the edges of the existing guttering and was lost so in 2015 We   replaced most sections with Deep Flow Guttering so that we could collect a lot more.

Deep Flow ( high capacity) Guttering is a similar width to standard guttering and uses the same size downpipe so fitting was simple-we took advantage of scaffolding being up for exterior painting.

Cost approx. £35.70 + VAT for 18 M

Deep flow Fascia Brackets  £0.91 + VAT each

 

It's shape is semi-elliptical giving it a stronger profile (so less prone to sag) and a greater depth of 75mm compared to half-round which is 52mm.  This gives it approximately twice the capacity.

It also makes it more robust so won’t need clearing or replacing as often.

The increased capacity reduces the need for downpipes also.

 

We also installed a  pipe through the extension roof to connect the south facing roofs guttering  with the flat roof at the back. This enabled us to route all water collected from the south side to the rainwater tanks .

 

 POOL HALL LIGHTING (or any large room)

 

The pool hall and changing room area is approx. 12m x9m and requires lighting for 12 hours a day mon-sat.

In 2014 we replaced existing fluorescent tubes with LED panels.

The 10 panels cost approx.    £80 + VAT   each. ( cheaper now)

As this is a relatively new technology we do not know how often they might need replacing. So far 2 have

The pool and changing room areas require a lighting level of 60,000 Lumens.

The Lights are on for 4,400 hours each year.  Assuming electricity costs 10 pence per Kw/Hour.

Standard light bulbs cost £1,760 per year.

Flourescent tubes cost £528 per year.

LED Panels cost £352 per year.

 

MORE TANKS AND BETTER SHED ACCESS

 

Summer 2016 we extended the watershed and  installed 2 more rainwater tanks to accommodate our increased collection capability.

We modified the shed panels adding handles so they could be easily removed for access.

 

INTERNET BASED WATER MONITORING SYSTEM

www.henryhouse.uk

By installing a Raspberry-Pi webserver ,we developed a system with ultrasonic sensors  to measure water levels in the rainwater and greywater tanks .This can be accessed anywhere via the internet  and helps us monitor water usage and collection.

This is visualized on  the touch screen computer in the hallway.