Road To Net Zero


Road To Net Zero Feature


particular challenge is the Cornish House design – notoriously difficult to bring up to standard. Pressure on the teams responsible for designing, planning and executing the upgrade work is huge and the homes can be technically challenging. Te National Housing Federation and Local Government Association’s report


Hard to decarbonise Social Homes, identified a number of characteristics that make homes harder to decarbonise. In addition to those issues mentioned above, they include housing on the coast or at risk of flooding; heritage homes; constrained sites that may preclude the use of external wall insulation or heat pumps; and homes with bespoke features such as bay windows, which will need particular expertise to manage. Some of these issues need complex solutions to produce improvements in


energy efficiency without producing unwanted side-effects that can actually damage the fabric of an older property. Te best technical support for the teams


tasked with such upgrades needs to be both comprehensive and competent. Individual product manufacturers will give advice on their own products, but


for product-neutral advice, a distributor will be best placed. Te benefit of this joined-up approach between housing provider and


distributor is that it saves social housing providers having to deal with a multiplicity of material suppliers. It also means that if a particular product is in short supply, they can suggest suitable alternatives. Te climate emergency means that the demand to retrofit all homes, not


just social housing, is likely to accelerate. All of which means that the diversity of product solutions and depth of technical expertise offered will become increasingly important in helping the country move towards net zero.


Caroline Bowler is head of public sector framework partnerships at SIG Distribution


42 | HMMJune/July 2024 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


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