A grant of over £1.35m has been awarded by the BEIS Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator programme to Warwick District Council and Oxford Brookes University for a project which will see 50 council homes in the District with low energy ratings undergo whole house energy retrofits using some of the latest technology available. These houses will benefit from permanently reduced fuel bills, better air quality and improved energy efficiency ratings thanks to a successful government funding bid.
Sarah Wigglesworth Architects (SWA) is leading the multidisciplinary team. The pilot project is being undertaken with SWA long-time partners Enhabit, in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University and the housing team at Warwick District Council. Improvements will be made to the thermal comfort and energy efficiency of existing semi-detached houses and bungalows across Lillington, Leamington Spa and Warwick, reducing lifetime carbon running costs and preventing the release of embodied carbon in the existing buildings.
Sarah Wigglesworth explained: “The project is a critical step for tackling fuel poverty in social housing; we have developed innovative methods for selecting properties with local and national relevance, providing solutions for a cross-section of lifestyles and income levels. If successful, the project can be extended to both social and private housing demonstrating the value of design-led decarbonisation.”
The homes selected will have the money and energy saving alterations made for free. Plans include wrapping the external envelope of the building in insulation and new external cladding, installing triple glazed windows, under floor and loft insulation, and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery to reduce the risk of damp and mould, providing fresh filtered air. This is one of the first projects to undertake PAS 2035 compliant retrofit at scale; it is a technically and socially ambitious project, proving that advanced decarbonisation can be achieved alongside great design to bring meaningful value and comfort to UK homes.
Warwick District Council’s Head of Housing Services, Lisa Barker commented: “Receipt of this funding is a tremendous boost in allowing us to extend our ambitious programme to improve the energy performance of our housing. This will not only benefit residents by permanently reducing their fuel bills and make their homes warmer in winter, but also supports the Council’s ambition to combat climate change.”
Once the retrofitting work is completed, each home will be measured for its thermal performance with energy use and indoor environmental conditions carefully monitored. The householders will then be advised on how to manage their energy use with the new measures in place.
Rajat Gupta, Professor of Sustainable Architecture and Climate Change at Oxford Brookes University, who is leading the building performance evaluation of the scheme said: “We are excited to get this project underway as it will have a major impact on the quality of life of residents, who will enter an era of advanced energy efficient homes. We have shown through years of international research that energy retrofit measures can play a key role in sustainability. This is especially important as the UK aims for a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050.”
Dr Sarah Price, Head of Building Physics at Retrofit specialists Enhabit, who are consulting on the project added: “Enhabit is really excited to be part of this innovative retrofit project, which will help to develop strategies for reducing costs and improving efficiencies across the Warwick District housing stock and beyond. We are looking forward to developing the retrofit processes alongside our partners Warwick District Council, Oxford Brookes University and Sarah Wigglesworth Architects.”
Once the retrofitting work is completed, each home will be measured for its thermal performance with energy use and indoor environmental conditions carefully monitored. The householders will then be advised on how to manage their energy use with the new measures in place.
Works will be starting on site at the beginning of 2022.
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