British Gas and Midland Heart are working together to both decarbonise and improve the energy efficiency of homes.
- tackling high levels of fuel poverty due to increasing energy bills;
- identifying the optimum investment in homes to increase SAP ratings;
- helping tenants understand the use of any new heating technologies installed in homes.
The partnership will also allow British Gas to test the use of lower carbon solutions in a variety of homes, at the same time as giving Midland Heart greater buying power, meeting the resourcing and skills challenge at scale. The housing provider will also benefit from specialist knowledge in understanding new technologies as well as help with navigating a complex grant funding regime.
The partnership will showcase how social housing can be retrofitted with lower carbon energy, combining conventional fabric first approaches alongside new and innovative technologies.
It follows a successful pilot in Coventry which saw EPC ratings in three homes rise from E and F to B.
Project planning, delivery and compliance is being overseen by PH Jones, British Gas’ specialist social housing business.
This partnership coincides with the successful announcement of the wave one Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, with Midland Heart securing grant through consortium bids with local authority partners.
Glenn Harris, Chief Executive, Midland Heart, said:
“Our aim is to make the most of our homes low carbon potential, so we’re delighted to be working with British Gas and PH Jones on this decarbonisation project. Their expertise and resources will allow us to deliver an operational blueprint, supporting us to navigate through carbon reduction and net zero goals.
“Understanding the impact these new technologies have on our customers is also an important aspect of this partnership. We’re working together on customer engagement and will be gathering important feedback on the impact these new technologies have on peoples’ everyday lives.”
Jana Siber, Managing Director, British Gas Services and Solutions, said: “With the majority of UK homes using a gas boiler for heating and hot water, we need to accelerate the deployment of lower carbon heating projects like this to help millions of homes reach net zero, while ensuring we are all creating a fairer and more sustainable future for all.” Working with housing associations such as Midland Heart is helping us to show the changes we can make to help reduce energy bills for customers, while also improving local air quality and making a significant contribution towards our net zero targets. We’re drawing on the specialist renewable energy skills, knowledge and resources across our business to make it happen, and to strengthen our position at the forefront of the UK’s transition towards cleaner, greener heating.”
The partnership has been funded through various streams by Midland Heart, PH Jones and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Delivery on the first phase of the project, which involves c150 homes, is expected to begin in February 2022.
