600 Barcombe homes to take part in Communiheat experiment

More than 600 households in Barcombe, near Lewes, have signed up for the two-year project to work towards removing fossil fuels for cooking and heating.

Barcombe, along with four million properties across the UK, is not on the gas grid, meaning villagers have to use heating oil and other fuels which give off high levels of carbon emissions.

Now, under a project called Communiheat, experts will work with residents to research, gather data and compare approaches for reducing the village’s levels of pollution.

Chairman of Greater Brighton, councillor Daniel Humphreys, said the experiment was an "excellent opportunity'.

The organisation wants the region to have a growing, modern economy that is international, creative, connected, talented and resilient.

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He said: "This is a an excellent collaboration using villagers as willing guinea pigs to help them reduce the carbon emissions from their heating and lower their fuel bills.

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"It’s a great example of the sort of work going on all over Greater Brighton to help tackle climate change and it really does help position us in the forefront of this battle in the UK."

CommuniHeat aims to best understand how Barcombe and similar communities could switch to using electricity for heating.

Digital community events will be held to understand residents’ needs and opinions.

The project will also install energy meters in the village and use computers to forecast the impacts of electrifying heat.

In doing so, the project partners hope to create a sustainable, replicable model for Barcombe that could be applied in other parts of the country.

Ollie Pendered, chief executive of Community Energy South, one of the partners in the scheme, said it had the potential to "create a new market for local installers, create future jobs while benefiting residents".