More than 1,000 homes that are difficult and expensive to keep warm have received energy-efficiency upgrades in the latest part of a retrofitting scheme.
Nottingham City Council is continuing to support financially-vulnerable residents this winter through the Greener HousiNG programme.
Around 13,000 energy-efficiency improvements have been made since the council launched Greener HousiNG in 2012. The aim of the scheme is to help both social tenants and private homeowners to reduce their energy bills and carbon emissions.
Using grant funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the European Regional Development Fund and with the support of the Midlands Net Zero Hub, a range of upgrades have been made to homes across the city to improve their energy performance.
These include what are known as ‘fabric measures’, such as insulation and new windows, and renewable technologies like solar panels and air-source heat pumps.
Residents targeted through Greener HousiNG are those who are likely to be struggling with their household bills. The retrofit schemes are helping the council reduce instances of fuel poverty while working towards becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2028.
Recent schemes supported by the authority include:
- Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator, which involved roof insulation and external wall insulation on social homes in Sneinton
- The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 1, which insulated social homes Bakersfield, Mapperley and Bulwell
- The Deep Retrofit Energy Model which completed whole-house retrofit works including external wall insulation, smart ventilation systems, and new windows, doors, and roofs
- Local Authority Delivery phases 1b, 2 and 3 which tackled privately-owned homes including those which are not connected to the mains gas supply
- Home Upgrade Grant 1 which has supported private homeowners with homes that are not heated by mains gas
The council is continuing efforts to retrofit homes across the city with further phases of these grant-funded schemes and currently has a pipeline of 500 properties to be upgraded by 2025.
The second phase of Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) is currently open for applications from homeowners in the city. Residents could be eligible if their home is not heated by mains gas and their annual household income is less than £31,000.
Nottingham Energy Partnership is supporting the City Council with the application process and residents can find out more on its website.
Councillor David Mellen, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “I recently visited some of the homes that the council has retrofitted and spoke to residents who have benefited from the Greener HousiNG scheme.
“All these improvements contribute towards reduced energy bills, decreased carbon dioxide emissions and an increased pride of place for residents. Not only are the people who live in these homes going to have lower energy bills, which is really important at the moment due to the ongoing, national cost-of-living crisis, but the works also help the environment and contribute towards Nottingham’s ambition to be a carbon-neutral city.”
One resident on Cosby Road who lives in a property benefitting from some of the retrofit measures said: “I’m happy with the works, it’s a lot warmer. It’s been very cold recently and I’ve not even had to bother putting my heating on, so overall I am pleased.”
A spokesperson for Westville Insulation, which has worked with the council to deliver the improvements, said: “We have happy residents which is great to see.”
Homeowners who do not qualify for these grant-funded schemes can explore options to improve the energy efficiency of their homes through initiatives such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Great British Insulation Scheme.