Case Study: BCHG Halesowen Road - SHELTER Project

Short Description

A programme of energy renovation applied to individually owned dwellings in terraces on one street. Funded by the local authority and undertaken by Black Country Housing Group’s in-house home improvement agency “Care and Repair” and the local authority sponsored Warm Zone project.

A mixture of energy saving measures, modernisation and aesthetic improvements were made to old and dilapidated dwellings. The building works and building services works were split between two agencies. This was because of the local authorities funding arrangements.

Key Elements

Certification

No energy performance certificates were issued. Before and after Standard Assessment Procedure energy ratings (SAP-ratings) were undertaken to predict pre- and post-renovation fuel use. Pre-renovation fuel bills were available and therefore some comparison between before and after fuel use could be made.

Asset Management

This project was to rescue some privately owned housing that would otherwise become un-inhabitable – potentially making re-housing a local authority responsibility.

Project Management

A home improvement agency belonging to Black Country Housing Group Limited secured the funding. That organisation took the lead role. The Agency referred to in-house experience of energy renovations and procured the building works from a main contractor and sub contractors. 

Capacity Building

As a one-off project there was no capacity building opportunity and none was created; however the Agency gained valuable experience of delivering renovations with an energy efficiency element.

Work with Residents

The residents remained in occupation during the works and the project was all about helping them to afford to stay in their homes and to improve their living conditions. The consultation with these residents was therefore particularly extensive and the eventual measures employed were distilled from a technical requirements list, a list of energy saving desirables and a list of what tenants wanted.

Funding

A special grant was secured from a local authority to pay for improvements to privately owned and occupied dwellings that were in need of modernisation and improvement to their appearance. Energy efficiency improvements were included because of the opportunity and the very poor energy efficiency and hence high running costs and carbon emissions exhibited by these dwellings.

Thermal Insulation

Roof insulation was increased to 300mm of mineral fibre quilt, giving a Thermal Transmittance (U-value) of 0.16W/m2K. Replacement windows and doors had U-values of 1.5W/m2K.

Heating and Hot Water

An efficient gas-fired central heating boiler, wet-radiators and thermostatic and time controls was installed under a separate grant funding programme which followed the work to improve the building fabric.

Electricity Saving Products

Dedicated compact florescent lamp holders and bulbs were installed in all rooms and information about low-energy and water consuming domestic appliances was provided in all properties and to all visitors.

Main Results

Fuel bills and carbon emissions were reduced by between £500 and £750 per annum and between 4 and 6 tonnes (CO2) per annum. This represents an improvement in SAP rating from 30 to 68 (on a scale from 0 – 100 where 100 is carbon neutral). 

Works costs were £144,000, i.e. £12,000 per dwelling. The majority of costs were associated with building works, however £2,500 spent on doors and windows and £2,600 spent on central heating systems both had a direct bearing on the energy efficiency of the dwellings, once completed.

Lessons learned

Although the intension was to include alternative energy technologies, budget constraints and poor solar orientation meant that improvements were limited to roof insulation, window and door upgrades and an energy efficient heating system. Whilst this reduced fuel bills and carbon emissions substantially it represented a missed opportunity. The high cost of non-energy saving measures (which were essential – such as replacing the roof covering and repairing dangerous chimney stacks) means that it will be many years before further and more significant energy saving measures can be afforded for these dwellings.

The complex arrangement of the sponsor and two agencies working on the same project meant that opportunities were missed. The problem was created by the nature of funding for energy renovations in the UK. A single funding model or the ability to combine funding would overcome this problem. There has been a dreadful lack of incentive to address energy use in the UK. This is because we had an abundance of cheap carbon-based fuels and we had no understanding of the problems associated with the use of carbon-based fuels. This is changing in the UK, but the change is slow and has been greatly reduced by the current and global economic situation.

Additional Information

Contact:

Kim Cherry
BCHG - Black Country Housing Group
E-mail: cherryk@bcha.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)121 561 1969