Selwood Housing has been awarded £1.4 million from the government's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to help improve the energy efficiency of our homes and reduce our carbon emissions. This will be co-funded with £4.3 million from us which will help to deliver a programme of improvements to over 150 of our homes between 2023 and 2025.
This programme of improvements will take a 'fabric first' approach, maximising the energy efficiency of our homes through heat conservation techniques. This includes loft, cavity wall and external wall insulation, as well as the installation of photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps.
The works will target our least energy efficient properties, starting with bungalows in 2023/24. This will be followed by suitable EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) works for 'E' and 'F' rated homes in 2024/25. The improvements will bring these properties up to at least EPC 'C' and ensure we're on track to meet our band 'C' target for all our homes by 2030. Improving energy efficiency will help keep homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, reduce our overall carbon emissions and bring us in line with the UK's net zero ambitions.
According to The Energy Saving Trust, 21% of total carbon emissions in the UK come from our homes. The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund forms part of the government's commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15% by 2030 and supports the UK's 2050 net zero target.
This funding bid was made as a consortium led by the West of England Combined Authority and as such, we're one of several housing associations to benefit from this funding. The consortium has received £28.4m and £9.3m to support the delivery of over £82m worth of home upgrades for low-income households, which will improve the energy efficiency of over 3,000 homes across the south west. Selwood Housing and other members of the consortium will continue to receive support to deliver this programme of work from the South West Net Zero Hub.
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said:
This investment will help thousands of households to heat their homes for less, keep them warm for longer and could save hundreds on their annual energy bill. The green energy sector is growing, and this funding will support green jobs and provide the training needed to deliver these vital upgrades to homes.
Jon Rattenbury, Programme Manager for the South West Net Zero Hub said:
This is fantastic news for households in the South West and it takes us a step closer to achieving the region's net zero targets. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver sustainable home upgrades that will make homes warmer and address fuel poverty.
Verena Buchanan, Group Operations Director at Selwood Housing said:
Selwood Housing welcomes this fantastic opportunity to make our homes more energy efficient and comfortable for our customers to live in. This is the start of a much larger plan to bring over 1,500 homes to EPC C by 2023.
