DECARBONISING FOR HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS/SOCIAL HOUSING


DELIVERING CLEAN HEAT FO


How we heat social housing is an ongoing topic of discussion for the industry, with providers needing to strike an important balancing act between cost and environmental impact. Considering both retrofit and new build projects, Rob Pearse, residential business director at Baxi, explores how specifiers and contractors working on social housing can deliver suitable clean heating and hot water


Low-carbon heating solutions like heat pumps and heat networks are key to achieving net zero


In harder-to-treat properties, a hybrid approach


can provide a more affordable solution while taking up less space, with installation quicker, easier and involving far fewer disruptions. What’s more, retrofitting a heat pump into an existing system can successfully decarbonise a significant portion of the building’s heating requirement while increasing system resilience. This is corroborated by case studies from the EU, which show that a heat pump used in a hybrid system can deliver as much as 80% of the annual space heating requirement. This is not to suggest that an all-electric approach


I


t’s safe to say that, for social housing providers who’ve been tasked with meeting an Energy


Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of Band C or higher by 2030, time is of the essence. Encouragingly, however, there are signs that significant strides have already been made to improve energy efficiency across the UK’s social housing stock. Indeed, a recent English Housing Survey showed that the proportion of social sector homes in the highest energy efficiency bands – A to C – has risen from 23% to 52% over the last decade. These efforts have been further bolstered by


initiatives like the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which entitles eligible residents to free energy saving improvements to their home. Meanwhile, the new regulatory technical requirements for communal heat networks – including the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS) – are set to boost heat network performance, and improve outcomes for residents. For both existing homes and new builds, the goal


now is to continue this positive momentum by retrofitting or otherwise designing homes in line with net zero targets. Doing so will simultaneously contribute towards the UK’s wider climate goals, help to minimise energy expenditure, improve comfort levels for tenants, and keep them safe from the threat of fuel poverty. Key to the mission of achieving net zero is


the transition towards low-carbon heating solutions like heat pumps and heat networks. While these solutions can help dramatically reduce both cost and environmental impact, deciding which is right for specific social housing


34 projects can be easier said than done.


DECARBONISATION THROUGH RETROFIT When embarking on a retrofit project, there are several key factors that will help to determine the solution that should be used. For example, lack of space is a common issue


in standard two-up, two-down social homes that currently rely on combi boilers for their heating and hot water needs. This can make finding an indoor location for a hot water cylinder a particularly difficult task. Meanwhile, the various types and ages of


buildings often mean that the level of building fabric upgrades required can differ greatly across projects. For social housing providers with only limited technical knowledge about how to upgrade, this perceived complexity can deter them from making the switch. Added to this, the greater time required to install


a heat pump can result in increased disruption to tenants. Avoiding fuel poverty is another concern as many tenants are on low incomes. With electricity costs currently around four times that of gas, the current spark gap can deter many from moving to a fully electric system. As such, in homes where implementing an all-


electric heat pump heating solution isn’t a viable option, adopting a hybrid approach might prove a better alternative. Typically, this would see an air source heat pump being combined with a combi boiler. This overcomes the cylinder space issue, as the heat pump would provide the heating while the combi boiler would be retained for peak winter heating and hot water.


ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Autumn 2025 www.essmag.co.uk


won’t necessarily be the favoured route in some retrofit projects. Where it is, social housing providers might like to consider implementing modular solutions to help overcome any space restrictions. Using highly efficient modern methods of construction, prefabrication specialists like Baxi Packaged Solutions can manufacture factory-built, customised turnkey pods containing the heat pump system. These pods can then be bolted onto a house as a porch, or as a recycling or bicycle shed. Such an approach can facilitate simpler installation and a reduction in on-site labour, while creating more indoor space for the tenant. Communal heat networks, meanwhile, offer


another efficient and cost-effective solution to heating multi-occupancy buildings like high-rise tower blocks and low-level residential housing. In this model, the heat source is a centralised energy centre that transfers the heat to each property through insulated underground pipework,


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