38 PROJECT REPORT: SOCIAL HOUSING


efficiency issues, including the failure of the original cavity wall insulation.


TARGETS


The overall driver is that all ‘fuel poor’ social rented homes will need to be EPC rated C or above by 2030, according to law; the Government’s ‘EPCC’ initiative. They discovered they had 7,000 homes that didn’t come up to that standard, so the task was clear.


It was timely that the Government announced (in 2020) the SHDF funding at a similar juncture, says Lonsdale: “a nice sum of money to treat your worst homes first. e says that having been through the process to understand which the worst performing homes were, it meant that they could target the “worst first, he says, adding that the two streets stood out.” These were D and E rated midth century homes in both locations. Otterburn was off grid, with a combination of LPG and storage heaters, meaning their homes had a lower EPC rating than normal, despite having loft and cavity wall insulation.


ALL THE WORKS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO PAS 2035 STANDARDS – THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK STANDARD FOR ENERGY RETROFIT


WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK


Lonsdale adds: “Installing EWI and solar PVs was the only way those properties were going to get the net level of performance for the C rating.” As well as better thermal comfort for residents, and improved aesthetics from measures like EWI, the project is hoped to be able to save residents up to  on their energy bills. y significantly reducing the homes’ carbon footprint, the housing association has modelled a potential saving of 60 tonnes a year from this first wave of the proect alone.


PROCUREMENT AND PLANNING The housing association had to lodge


a bid for the funding, which they in turn submit to the Government. But because the two streets were in different local authority areas (Durham CC and Northumberland CC), that meant two separate bids. Karbon’s bid included surveys, measures deemed appropriate per property, and it was a mied bag of works,” says Lonsdale. However, they would all receive EWI and a 4 kW solar PV array, which none had previously. The project team used data modelling software to identify what the most costeffective route to take each home from an E rating to a C, based on their current state. The software looks at each property in turn, and outputs the costs, projected fuel bill reductions, and further results in terms of “what it looks like on completion.” In addition, as Milburn eplains, thermal imaging has eposed “huge gaps” in the previously installed cavity wall insulation, which also had to be addressed.


Milburn says candidly, “there were a lot of companies that went around doing cavity wall insulation for housing associations, and the insulation basically wasnt fit for purpose. t was put in by incompetent contractors.” The result has been tenants living in properties with condensation and mould in some cases. There are two contractors involved in delivering the refurbishments; energy company Eon carried out the work at tterburn, and northeast regeneration specialistsRE:GEN Group at Ouston. The project is progressing to its hoped completion in October, but with the programme taking place largely over the winter, there were some challenges, particularly with the EWI, a wet trade; “you can’t put it on when it’s too cold,”


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  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76