Sustainability
On a social level, growing consumer
awareness means that environmental sustainability is increasingly a concern for residents and their families when choosing a care home provider. Sustainability is moving from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’ requirement. From a general legislative perspective,
two energy-related building regulations should be noted. First, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) which require that privately rented (non-domestic) buildings have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of Band E or above. Care home operators should be aware that there are proposals to raise this to EPC C by 2028 in private care homes, although this is not law as yet. Similarly, in public care homes, a new consultation is set to propose setting a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030. Refurbishing a care home’s heating system can significantly improve its EPC rating, potentially moving it up a band or two. Larger private care organisations
employing 250 or more people, or with a turnover in excess of £44m and an annual balance sheet total in excess of £38m must also comply with Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) regulations. By mandating energy audits for larger UK organisations, these regulations set out to reduce energy consumption and associated carbon emissions by identifying and encouraging energy-efficiency measures. It should be noted that ESOS compliance requirements are tightening further in Phase 4, due in 2027. Further care sector regulatory drivers
come from the CQC, which is now assessing environmental sustainability in the ‘Well- Led’ category of its assessment framework. Its quality statement underlines the importance of reducing any negative impact on the environment and supporting other in doing the same, ensuring energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources where possible. For public sector care homes, the NHS Green Plan guidance requires publicly
funded care and health facilities to develop Heat Decarbonisation Plans (HDP). These include phasing out fossil fuel heating by 2032. Many local authority-owned and managed care homes may fall in scope of specific local net zero targets. Our research reveals that energy
efficiency, ease of installation, and reliability are the key motivators for care home providers when decarbonising the heating system, along with funding (see funding opportunities section).
Funding opportunities for care homes Energy company obligation – This policy obliges suppliers to invest in non-domestic energy efficiency upgrades (e.g., insulation, heating system upgrades) in priority properties such as care homes, including installation of decarbonisation measures such as replacements, upgrades, or repairs for boilers. Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme –
Grants are provided for public sector care homes and other public sector bodies to fund decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures. The scheme will continue through to 2028, supporting more public buildings to switch to cleaner heating and cut their emissions, accelerating to net zero. Local authority delivery – Funding
allocated to local authorities, to improve the energy efficiency of homes of low-income households, helping reduce fuel poverty, phasing out high carbon heating and reducing emissions. Most care home providers responding to
our survey had either applied or considered applying for funding to decarbonise their properties, suggesting it is required to fund heating system upgrades. The most popular
48
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com October 2025
funding streams for care homes reported by our survey respondents were the local authority delivery and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme with just over half (53 per cent and 50.5 per cent respectively) applying for both. Easier access to funding was identified as one of the main enablers of decarbonisation. There was significant consensus that
resources, expertise, and the additional work required to complete complex funding applications presented barriers to applying for grants.
All-electric solutions New build care homes will be designed to require less heat for operational use and optimised for a decarbonised electricity grid. In buildings like these, a fully electric approach to heating and domestic hot water (DHW) based around renewable solutions such as heat pumps will be the favoured approach, particularly when combined with solar thermal and/or solar PV solutions. Using refrigerant technology to provide
space heating and heat domestic hot water is an attractive proposition for reducing associated emissions as the potential efficiency of air source heat pumps can be up to 400 per cent in many cases. This means that for every 1kWh of electricity used to run the heat pump, you get up to 4kWh of heat output. Let us consider possible air source heat
pump (ASHP) design strategies using different types of heat pumps – high temperature (HT) and mid temperature (MT). The advantage of using a HT heat
pump is its ability to deliver the high flow temperature required to meet the design temperature for sanitary hot water in care
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
