Energy efficiency grant helps Old Town café cut costs (and carbon)
Based in the heart of Hull’s Old Town, tea house Liquid Jade offers guests over 50 speciality teas, as well as a range of delicious coffees and sweet treats. The Oh Yes! Net Zero member used grant funding available through Hull City Council to improve the efficiency of the heating and lighting in its Grade II listed building.
The Hull Business Energy Efficiency Scheme (HBEES), run by Hull City Council’s business support team, aims to help local companies reduce their energy usage and carbon emissions.
It offers grants of up to £10,000 towards the cost of purchasing and installing LED lighting, smart heating systems, solar panels, electric vehicle (EV) chargers and other energy-reduction measures.
Helen Schofield, Liquid Jade’s owner, became aware of the scheme soon after taking on the lease at her premises just off Whitefriargate in Hull’s city centre.
Within days of applying, her eligibility for a grant had been confirmed and the council’s energy partner NPS had visited the café to carry out a free assessment to identify opportunities to reduce energy usage.
Helen acted on all NPS’s recommendations, choosing local firm and fellow Oh Yes! member Campbell Electrical & Renewables to install LED lights, upgrade the heating systems and install draft excluders – helped by a grant of almost £1,500 towards the cost.
She said: “The energy efficiency scheme came at completely the right time for my business. The overheads due to the old heating system and lighting were becoming unsustainable, especially with the challenges we were facing at the time as a hospitality business during a pandemic.
“The café was always cold, no matter what we did with the heating. The lighting also needed updating as all the bulbs were old tungsten ones.
“The grant has really helped me move the business forward with energy efficiency, future proofing and reducing overheads.”
Hear more from Helen on the benefits of the scheme and how easy it is to apply:
For more information about the scheme and other business support services and grants available from Hull City Council call 01482 615359 / 01482 612612 or email business.support@hullcc.gov.uk.