LLES is a local Charity working to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on the environment, encouraging people to save energy and to convert to renewable, non-polluting sources of energy wherever possible.

"Our aim is to make Llanidloes one of the first carbon neutral towns in Wales, and we have already made considerable progress", says David Utting, Chair to the Trustees. "Please browse our website, look at what we're doing, and then why not join us and help make Llanidloes a better town for everyone who lives here".

Llanidloes Green Fair 2008 !!!!
The organisation is hotting up for a brilliant festival of events..... in addition to a great line-up of speakers, we've also got 'Seize the Day' coming to do a gig on the Sunday. Seize the Day are a folk band who do some groovy numbers to inspire, enlighten and entertain; check out their website at www.seizetheday.org
We've also got activities for kids, food demos, exhibitors, electric vehicles, youth club fashion show, film, art, sustainable building methods, renewable energy systems, workshops.... something for everyone. More details on the Greenfair pages of this site.

Eco-House Open Day a Great Success 25th May 2008

Despite terrible weather the LLES Open House Day was a tremendous success with hundreds of people coming out to have a look at the range of properties participating in the event.

LLES Development Officer and co-organiser of the event, Diana Berriman said: ‘we are very pleased with the turnout, and everyone visiting seemed genuinely interested in what the properties had to offer. We have received a lot of positive feedback, and many people are keen to see follow up events. Infact the only negative comment from the whole day was that there was just not enough time to get round everywhere!’.
Kevin Carey, LLES Trustee who came up with the idea of holding an Open House Day said ‘Given that this event was a bit of an experiment, to gauge interest in using alternatives to fossil fuels for heating and powering our homes, I think we can safely say that there is a lot of interest in this, especially with the costs of gas, electricity and oil rising all the time’.
Householder Kevin Blockley, who opened up his home to visitors for the afternoon said ‘ we had a very busy afternoon – over 80 people came to Old Chapel Farm, both from the local area and further afield. We have a log boiler, pellet boiler, solar panels and wind turbine. I was in the boiler shed virtually all afternoon talking non stop to a steady stream of visitors. People are obviously interested in the system we have here, where logs heat the underfloor heating system, and pellet and solar heat the water. They were asking loads of questions about how it works and how much it cost etc. I would not mind doing this again.’
LLES plan to build upon this level of interest by holding workshops on energy efficiency and the different renewable technologies available to householders, and perhaps run an event to enable people to meet others who are renovating properties of similar age or style to their own. Also, the Llanidloes Green Fair, planned for the weekend of 4th/5th October, will have a very practical angle this year, with workshops running all weekend into what householders can do to reduce heating costs, examine what systems may be appropriate, bring in the wood fuel experts, and so on. It will be aimed at inspiring people to take action in their own homes.

Regarding the Open Day, Diana added ‘We would like to say a big thank you to all of the householders, LLES volunteers, and visitors for making the event the success it was’.

Llanidloes & Area Open House Day
A chance to see 9 houses locally of all ages and types where super insulation and renewable energy systems have been installed.
Learn from the home owners themselves about insulation, wood fuel boilers, solar heating, wind energy, water power and much more.
Find practical and inspiring ideas on how to make your own home warmer, brighter, healthier, cheaper to run and ready for the climate change century.

Introducing the locations and details of the houses....
1. 19 China Street Llanidloes SY18 6AB (next to the Mount Inn)
Super insulation and energy efficiency measures.

2. Tryfan, Woodlands Road, Llanidloes SY18 6HU (very top of Woodlands Rd)
Solar hot water panels and wood stove fired central heating that is fully integrated with a gas central heating system.
Limited parking: please park at bottom of Woodlands Rd and walk up. For disabled access please ring 01686 413537.

3. Old Chapel Farm, Banhadlog, Llanidloes SY18 6JR
Wind turbine generating up to 6kW, log boiler, pellet hopper, heatmain to 4 buildings, pellet boiler, solar array, accumulator for tanks, thermafleece insulation. Lots to see.....
Directions: (signs will be up to help with directions)
Go up Bryndu hill towards Tylwch (B4518), after 3/4 mile take the Llidiartywaen Road. After a mile, take the second right, follow to the end. Park in the field just before the chapel. Uneven ground, wear suitable shoes.

4. Woodchurch, Trefeglws Road, Llanidloes SY18 6HZ (past the hospital)
Domestic wind turbine and solar photo-voltaic panels run the TV. Solar hot water panels provide hot water directly to the kitchen sink. Reaches 75'C on a sunny day.

5. Dol-Llys Hall, Oakley Park Road, off Trefeglws Road, Llanidloes SY18 6JB
House divided into seven flats, all heated by a wood pellet / wood chip boiler.

6. Graig, Llidiartywaen, Llanidloes SY18 6EJ
Super insulated barn conversion with solar thermal and wood heating. Renovation of 17th century timber framed house with solar thermal, solar PV (electric) and wood heating.
Directions: Take the Llidiartywaen Road (see above). Follow for 3 miles. At the village sign for Llidiartywaen, go 250yds and at sharp bend come to old school on right. PARK HERE. Take the no through road on left, go 200yds, turn right onto track. Second gate on left, 3/4 mile down to house. Ring 01686 413447 for lift if cannot manage walk.

7. Clyn, Elan Valley, Rhayader LD6 5HP
Water turbine, wind turbine, solar hot water, electric vehicle, insulated cladding on house.
Limited parking, minibus from Llanidloes 1.45pm Groe carpark, Rhayader Smithfield 2.15pm. Tours at 2.30pm only.

8. Tir Gaia, Off East Street, Rhayader LD6 5DY (up the lane signposted Abbeycwmhir, Tir Gaia is on the left.)
Survivor hybrid passive solar house. Fresh Air Heating System, insulating window shutters.

9. Cwmbiga, Staylittle, SY19 7DB
Farmhouse and eco-cottages heated by log boiler and solar hot water with under-floor, heating and wood burners.
Directions: 9 miles NW of Llanidloes in the Hafren Forest. See www.cwmbiga.co.uk for more details.

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***Llanidloes Green Fair*** 4th / 5th October 2008 *** Back by popular demand...

Carbon Detox Show - 25th April 2008
A full house at the Minerva Centre Llanidloes enjoyed resident
author and environmentalist George Marshall's fast paced, funny but
hard-hitting look at our attitude to climate change and the really
effective things we can do to tackle it. If we don't acknowledge it,
when it really hits us we'll be like people waking up to find
themselves on a rollercoaster, but who don't even know what one is!

Climate change denial is just like all the excuses people make not to
give up smoking just yet. The audience contributed excuses: there's no
point because of China/India/America; we're all doomed anyway; public
transport is rubbish/expensive; the government will fix it with
nuclear mirrors in the sky...we strive to distance ourselves from
scary reality. Or, we dutifully follow Ten Easy Things You Can Do
guides: change bulbs, use hessian bags, put a brick in the cistern,
while continuing to fly, drive and eat mainly imported food. Most
carbon offset schemes don't help – it's like saying you've given up
smoking and cadging fags off other smokers.

We have to admit the problem, stop thinking that 'the environment' is
an isolated issue and realise that it's an 'everything' issue. Health,
defence, house prices, economics, peace, war, migration: you name it,
it will be affected by climate change.

Next, we had a visual exercise. A volunteer stepped forward one pace
for each tonne of carbon used by an average household: two steps for
heating, two for food (including fertilisers, transport etc.), one and
a half for the car, two for flights (our share even if we never
fly)showing that these are the huge, bottom line carbon belching
activities we must curb. Some things were fractions of steps: four
inches for public transport, a tenth of an inch for plastic bags. It
all added up to the width of the hall. Then people were invited to
call out destinations around the world and George translated them into
steps: 6 to fly to Canada, 10 to New Zealand,. By this stage the
volunteer had gone right round the hall. Then came some good news.
Save up to four tonnes by giving up the car, choosing a mainly
vegetarian, local diet and insulating the house. Enjoy a trip to
Venice by train for only 3 inches, or buy that nice pair of shoes for
less than a tenth of an inch. It's not a hair shirt lifestyle – the
audience was asked to guess just how recently we managed with a third
less flights, transport and other things we consider essential. Were
we less happy? Carbon detox your life now, and enjoy the result!
The meeting was organised by LLES (Llanidloes Energy Solutions) and the
Great Oak Bookshop.

Llanidloes Poster Competition Results April 2007

The ‘Find The Posters’ competition run by local charity Llanidloes Energy Solutions Ltd has been won by three local children. Forty posters, designed by pupils at Llanidloes primary school, were all on display around town to highlight LLES’ Energy Efficiency Campaign. The eye-catching posters, illustrating energy efficiency, water conservation and protecting the environment, attracted a lot of attention, and brought in lots of requests for household energy surveys.

The winners received fair trade Easter eggs as prizes, handed over by Diana Berriman, LLES Development Officer. “ The youngsters have done very well to locate nearly all of the forty posters around town,” said Diana. “Thank you to all those who took part, including the artists who provided the wonderful posters, and to the businesses and property owners who kindly displayed them. We are also grateful to the Powys Environmental Partnership and PAVO’s Rural Community Action fund who have supported the campaign throughout January, February and March.”

The competition is over, but the household energy surveys will continue throughout the year. LLES want to see as many householders in Llanidloes as possible to establish our energy use as a town, and provide assistance and information on energy efficiency to reduce energy wastage and fuel bills. To request your survey, which is free, and comes with free gifts, please contact Diana Berriman on 01686 411131.

Caption : Winners of the competition Tyler Gamble, Naomi Evans and Ryan Woosnam receive their Easter Egg prizes from LLES Officer Diana Berriman

STOP PRESS!
LLES are hosting a bigger, better and more informative Green Energy Festival over the weekend of 4/th. of October 2008. The event will include lots of trade stands, demonstrations, discussions with internationally respected speakers and childrens' green activities too.
Definitely a date for your diary!