Industry Viewfinder
“How important are the following to your residents on average?” Very Important Fairly Important Not Greatly Important Unimportant
Unfortunately, with the reportedly oldest stock in Europe, poorly insulated
homes are prevalent in the UK, with any gap in the fabric of a home forcing heating systems to work harder to maintain necessary temperatures. T ough there is some argument as to the exact specifi cations of air tightness
needed, the majority of the industry is under no illusion when it comes to the work leſt to achieve, believing that a fabric fi rst strategy is vital to lower bills and emissions, and ensuring these clean heating systems can thrive. T e Government currently recommends EPC ratings as the measurement for
effi ciency in homes, informing its Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. It does admit its shortfalls at present – being primarily a measure of how aff ordable a property’s energy costs are, rather than its carbon impact – but it remains their best ruler, the body seeking for all social homes to reach EPC C by 2030; notwithstanding the political turbulence that has weakened this somewhat. Also recommending a fabric fi rst approach – suggesting a minimum space heating demand of 90 hwk/m2
/year – plans still focus on the immediate
consequences of ineffi cient homes. In the face of this however, the UK is currently experiencing a cost of living
crisis, with prices of rent, energy and food rising dramatically – unlike income or housing benefi t – leading to further fuel poverty, lowering standards of living, and arguably taking housing professionals focus away from green technologies.
While understandable, these topics are not separate. According to the
Government, almost 20% of social housing residents were deemed to be in fuel poverty in 2019. In this study, 78% of respondents would describe at least some of their
tenants as fuel poor. Essentially, ineffi cient homes hurt more than just the environment.
OPINIONS OF DECARBONISATION Despite the clear challenges to achieve a better future in the long term, residents stand to gain in the short term from this process, with warmer, more aff ordable, healthier homes. As such, most of this year’s respondents were appreciative of the need for
decarbonisation. When asked how important they believed the decarbonisation of the housing sector to be, 38% said ‘extremely’, 41% ‘quite’, 16% ‘not very’ and just 5% ‘not at all’. When compared with the previous study, however, this is slightly less positive
– at 69% ‘extremely’ and 28% ‘quite’ – again perhaps implying the cost of living crisis has taken precedence, despite its position to tackle the issue. Alongside the need for decarbonisation, respondents were also asked what they believed to be its main benefi ts – lessening this theory somewhat. 31%
“What is the average performance of your housing stock in terms of EPC bands?”
22 | HMMJune/July 2024 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
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