The Environment

**UPDATE** Lyon Court has just been awarded the prestigious Green Star Gold Award by Visit Isle of Wight in respect of the green initiatives that we have already put in place in respect of sustainable transport and energy efficiency.  More to follow on this distinguished prize, but we understand that we are one of a select few to be awarded the highest grade!

At Lyon Court, we are passionate about protecting the environment and we actively encourage our guests to help us to recycle as much as possible to minimise what we send to landfill.  To this end we are helping Plastic Free Shanklin gain accreditation from Surfers Against Sewerage, with Dan becoming the inaugural Treasurer.

We now provide each apartment with separate receptacles for plastics/glass/metals, paper and food waste in line with the Island's strategy for recycling. In 2019 we will be installing a composter so that we can recycle all of our own food waste ourselves and use the compost for our gardens.

We are delighted to report that in 2018, we sent less to landfill than in 2017, despite having almost twice as many bookings!  Hopefully we can continue this trend into 2019.  

From 2019, we will stop providing guests with individually wrapped teabags, coffee, sugar, milk and soap.  Instead we will provide caddies with compostable teabags, coffee and sugar.  We will also leave a pint of milk in the fridge for guests and each bathroom will have a refillable liquid soap dispenser.

We have already replaced the aging, gas fired boiler that heated the swimming pool with a cutting edge Air Source Heat Pump, which extracts heat from the outside air in the same way that a fridge extracts heat from its inside.  This heat is then amplified by compression and heats the pool via a heat exchanger.  When used in conjunction with the solar pool cover is one of the most energy efficient ways to heat a pool.  

We ask our guests to take the pool cover off when they want to use the pool and cover it up when finished.  On a hot day, the solar cover is often enough to keep the pool temperature at the desired temperature of 28°c without the need for further mechanical heating.

We have also replaced most of the timber framed, single glazed windows with energy efficient double glazed units. Going forward, as we refurbish the remaining apartments, we will be replacing the remaining timber windows with double glazing.

We have recently replaced our 30 year old gas boiler with two A Rated, 98% energy efficient gas boilers and have zoned Lyon Court by apartment so that we can control the radiator systems in each apartment individually.  The twin boilers will also heat our 3 x 300 litre hot water storage cylinders, making the entire system highly energy efficient.  Initial tests have indicated a 70% saving on energy usage, although we will monitor readings over the next 12 months for more accuracy.

We will shortly be submitting a planning application to house the swimming pool under a new (mostly glazed) roof, with large bifold doors on two sides, allowing as much light in as possible.  Obviously this will make heating the pool and keeping it clean much easier, making it more energy efficient in both respects.  The plans also allow for toilets, changing rooms and additional space that we may use for treatment rooms for massages etc.  Once the design has been finalised, it will be shared on this website.