Cheltenham Council to invest £151k in energy monitoring system

A council is to monitor energy use of some of its historic buildings to help tackle climate change.

Cheltenham Borough Council is investing £151k in new systems they hope will also help reduce bills.

Several buildings, such as the Pittville Pump Rooms, will come under the scheme that aims to ensure energy use is properly managed.

Council chiefs say it will also help tackle the authority's financial pressures.

The buildings to be monitored also include The Wilson and Cheltenham Borough Council's offices, says the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Alisha Lewis, climate emergency cabinet member, said the scheme is something they will fund with the council's green investment deal.

She said: "It will allow us to invest in sustainable solutions which will pay themselves, off.

"It will cover everything from making sure we are not powering things that aren't in use, through to ensuring that we can manage everything off-site.

"So if something happens and we need to change the heating in response to a weather event we can change that with ease remotely.

"It will help us reduce our energy consumption, therefore making solar panels more viable in the long run. But particularly it will be saving the council considerable amounts of money."

The council has also applied for government funding to carry out feasibility studies to launch two heat networks, which could provide heat for hundreds of homes and businesses in the town.

Council chiefs want to make the most of opportunities to recycle waste heat generated through mechanical processes in the likes of factories or commercial kitchens.

The town centre and the new Golden Valley Development are being considered as possible locations.

Heat networks work by using water to carry heat from a single source supplying homes and businesses through underground pipes.

Heat is brought into a building through a heat exchanger, which removes the need for boilers.

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