We’ve received a small number of reports from residents who have been contacted by companies falsely claiming to be working with us on our Energy Saving Homes programme.

Please be aware that when you join the energy saving homes programme, we will let you know which contractor will be carrying out works at your property. They will NOT contact you before we’ve let you know who they are.  Please also keep in mind that the programme is fully funded, and you will NOT be charged for the work.

If you are concerned, or unsure at any stage, please don’t hesitate to contact our Retrofit team on 01962 848 175 or email EHomes@WINCHESTER.GOV.UK.

The first scheme, called ‘Retrofit Ready’, is for all council homes that have cavity walls and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) energy rating of D or below.

Through the scheme, we’ll first carry out detailed Energy Assessments for any eligible households that register their interest.

The assessment will tell us what kinds of upgrades might benefit a given property – and then, with the tenant’s approval, we’ll go ahead and install those upgrades, starting with the ones that will help residents reduce emissions and lower fuel costs quickly.

The energy-saving upgrades we can make through Retrofit Ready include bill-busting cavity wall and loft insulation, as well as better extraction fans and door undercutting to improve airflow and reduce the risk of condensation and mould.

So far, over 800 households have registered their interest in the scheme, 400 energy assessments have been carried out and work is now beginning to install relevant upgrades.

 

Our second scheme focuses on our timber-framed Swedish cottages.

This scheme involves a significant amount of work to 26 properties – the upgrades include new and improved external cladding, windows, doors, roofs, floor insulation and ventilation systems.

5 of the homes have already seen upgrades, and early survey work has also begun on the remaining 21.

Throughout the process, we’re working closely with residents to get their thoughts and, where possible, adapt the work programme to their needs.

Our third scheme looks at upgrading our sheltered housing and extra care homes with automatic meters for communal heating and water.

The meters will allow us to better understand how energy is being used in those properties, and identify ways to improve energy efficiency.

We’re also developing a plan to work with our sheltered housing and extra care residents to raise their energy awareness, with the aim of saving energy and making the homes more comfortable.

Cavity Wall Insulation Pilot

We’re also piloting cavity wall insulation upgrades with 75 homes to collect more accurate data on its effectiveness.

Void Council Homes pilot

Void council homes are empty council homes that are between tenancies. As part of Energy Saving Homes, we upgrade our void properties with loft and cavity wall insulation as standard.

In addition, four of our void properties are also receiving more extensive upgrades as part of a pilot scheme. Upgrades to these four properties include internal wall insulation, new windows and doors, new heating systems and solar panels.

So far, three of the void properties have been completed as part of the pilot, with the fourth scheduled to be completed early this year.

Airey Houses Pilot

Airey houses are homes constructed of pre-fabricated concrete.  part of our Airey House pilot scheme, a further 2 properties are also receiving significant upgrades, including replacing concrete external walls with cavity walls, which help retain more heat.

In addition, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and ventilation upgrades will help make the Airey houses more comfortable and energy efficient.

Storage heater advice scheme

Lastly, we’re also exploring options for properties that have storage heating. Following a tenant heating survey, we’re looking for ways to engage with tenants to help them make more efficient use of their storage heaters.

If the retrofit works are starting in empty properties which will not necessarily be the poorest performing properties what’s being done about the others?

Our Energy Saving Homes programme aims to retrofit homes that are rated EPC Band D and below.  Where possible, we will upgrade properties that are empty with measures such as cavity wall and loft insulation. Carrying out work on empty properties means that there is no disruption to tenants from the upgrade works.

We also know that many existing tenants are keen to have their own homes improved, which is why we launched the Retrofit Ready scheme, which aims to upgrade eligible occupied homes with measures such as cavity wall and loft insulation. The scheme has already been offered to tenants living in homes with lower energy efficiency performance.

Retrofit Ready is not currently available to homes that are system-built, or that have heritage designations, as they require more custom designs. For those properties, we're exploring ways to deliver a more bespoke approach, such as our Swedish Cottages scheme, which has already completed upgrades to 5 pilot projects.

What energy performance does the Energy Saving Homes programme aim to achieve?

Our first target is to upgrade all properties that are EPC Band D and below to EPC C.

What standards does the Energy Saving Homes scheme work to?

Our retrofit work is governed by PAS 2035 (Publicly Available Specification) which is monitored by Trustmark. This standard demands a quality-assured process for retrofitting homes and we work with professional consultants to ensure we meet the specification.

Are you looking at any energy efficiency work in communal areas?

Yes - for communal areas such as those found in our sheltered housing, we're looking at different options to improve energy efficiency, including smart metering and raising energy efficiency awareness among tenants.

How can I find out the energy performance of my home?

You can find your home's current Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) by searching for it on the Government's Find an Energy Certificate web page.

The page will also tell you when your home's energy rating was last checked, and will also suggest energy improvements that will help to improve your home's energy efficiency.

Although we currently only commission a new EPC before the we sell or re-let a property, In the future an EPC will be conducted for all homes included in the retrofit programme.

If a building system is removed, is the associated pipework also removed?

In some cases during the course of ugrades, new energy-efficient systems within a property will the property's pipework to be changed. Winchester City Council would like to avoid revisiting properties for major disruptive work and will aim to future-proof all energy-efficient measures installed.

Visit https://www.winchester.gov.uk/housing/help-for-council-amp-housing-association-tenants for further information on:

• High energy bills
• Energy saving quick-wins
• Creating a more sustainable home

Retrofitting residential properties requires careful planning and thorough assessment of each property. We adhere to the Trustmark quality assurance benchmark to ensure all properties are retrofitted to a high standard. The Trustmark standard demands quality workmanship, supported by expert consultants and delivered by accredited/approved installers. 

Our Retrofit Strategy is based on Expert and Government guidance:

1. Fabric first:    Decrease the energy/fuel (gas or electricity) usage within a home by repairing and insulating the building envelope (Walls, Floors, Roof)
2. Building Services upgrade:    Install high-performing heating and hot water appliances thereby reducing energy/fuel consumption
3. Renewable installation:    Use current and innovative technology to generate energy (e.g. solar panels)

Each retrofit programme is specifically designed to suit different building types. We would like to avoid the idea that ‘one size (one solution) fits all.’ We aim to address worse-performing properties first. Our retrofit design will allow us to use technology to monitor the temperature and humidity (moisture) within council homes. The information from the monitors helps us to improve our retrofit work over time.

HEADLINES: Spring 2023

• WCC were successful in the bid for Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding (SHDF) offered by the department of ‘Energy Security and Net Zero’.  Funding of £534,000 was secured which will allow the council to improve 369 homes to SAP C, targeting loft insulation and external retrofitting to the remaining Swedish timber frame homes. 
• Vacant property decarbonisation pilot is underway with 4 properties having fabric upgrades and some exciting new heating systems
• Energy Assessments under the Retrofit Ready Programme to +/-800 properties has begun
• We have begun to receive energy usage data on many of our Sheltered & Cared for Homes
• We are holding several tenant information and collaboration meetings for our Heating Strategy Initiative and for SHDF delivery work
• We have received our monitoring kits and will begin installing Temperature and Humidity/Moisture Monitors in Retrofitted homes to provide us with valuable information which will help us better our Retrofit Work

• Winchester City Council homes have an average SAP score of 70
• WCC homes are currently in line with average energy performance for Local Authority and Housing Association homes at a national level and are above the average across private and social housing in England (SAP 66)         ( source: government English Housing survey report English Housing Survey 2021 to 2022: headline report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) )
• 65% of WCC homes have a SAP Band of C or above* :

SAP BAND DISTRIBUTION IN WCC STOCK:
SAP:	No. of Homes	% of Homes
A	33	0.65
B	236	4.68
C	3004	59.54
D	1743	34.55
E	26	0.52
F	2	0.04
G	1	0.02
Total stock in count	5045	100.00

*The council use a combination of data from EPC’s undertaken, updated with improvement works completed since EPC, along with ‘auto-assessed’ information calculated by specialist energy performance software using what we know about the construction and condition of the council’s homes.