SUSTAINABLE RETROFIT Blueprint set
A Salford social housing improvement project has set the standard for sustainable retrofit
The majority of the buildings that exist today will still exist in 2050, so refurbishment is the key to achieving a low carbon built environment. For the UK to meet its targets and obligations on carbon emissions, this building stock will have to be refurbished and made much more efficient.
L
eading the way in the regeneration of Britain’s social housing stock is Salford based social housing provider, Salix Homes which recently revealed the success of its New Barracks Estate pilot improvement project at the 2012 Retrofit Conference held in Salford Quays. Salix Homes commissioned design, planning and engineering consultants Arup to provide low carbon retrofit advice for its Decent Homes Plus programme. Arup spent a year evaluating retrofitting options,
understanding tenants’ energy behaviours pre and post retrofit and the resulting social return on investment. Tenants have been in receipt of new boilers and control systems, double glazing, internal
insulation, installation of mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems (MVHRs), new bathrooms, new kitchens, properties re-wired and new front doors. In addition to physical improvements to the buildings, tenants on the New Barracks Estate, comprising of 78 Edwardian properties, were given advice and guidance on how and where they can save more energy. Gas use savings to date equate to an average reduction of 47 percent in properties’ C02 emissions. These changes will contribute considerably towards
the local authority’s target to reduce CO2 levels by 40 percent by 2013. And, Arup found that over a 20 year period the monetised value of benefits to all relevant stakeholders was estimated to be £3.4million, giving a total social value added (difference between the investment and the total social benefits) of £1.58million.
Arup used the New Economics Foundation's Social Return on Investment (SROI) tool to calculate the value of the predicted social impact resulting from the low carbon retrofit programme. The SROI methodology resulted in a full stakeholder map and the use of financial proxies to put a monetary value on identified qualitative and quantitative impacts. The predictive study showed that for every £1 invested in the programme return to society worth £1.58 is predicted. Measuring the social impact of the built environment is a growing area of research, as governments and policy makers look to evaluate how buildings and urban planning impacts the people and communities who use them. “Salix Homes has led the way in taking a broader view on improving its housing stock,” Arup Associate Director, Tim Whitley says. “Rather than focusing solely on physical improvement, Salix has looked at how this will help improve energy consumption and the environmental impact of its properties, as well as the
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experience of tenants living in its homes. In a period of austerity, demonstrating the value of investment in building improvements is a powerful tool that can be applied to a range of organisational or individual investments. As organisations look to benefit from the Green Deal, this provides a powerful way of demonstrating the value of investment.”
Salix Homes Head of Property Services Matt Roberts says: "Salix Homes is one of the few social landlords to carry out simultaneous assessments of carbon savings, tenants’ energy use behaviours and social return, to improve its housing stock and deliver greater benefits for both landlord and tenants. Listening to our tenants has been key, along with gathering fuel bills for analysis over the course of a year. This allowed us to understand a number of factors including the value of reduced gas bills, reduced repairs costs, increased training and employment, a significant increase in comfort levels for tenants and a lower carbon impact, and highlighting an average household saving of £353 on tenant’s gas bills annually.” Salix Homes is now working with AGMA (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities) who have been asked by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to trial
aspects of the Green Deal. n
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