renewable energy
Paul Taylor, Head of Renewables for Panasonic UK discusses how social housing providers can help tackle fuel poverty at the root, using heat pumps to provide more energy efficient homes.
The government’s recent release of new research exploring the challenges faced by fuel-poor households in winter 2022/23, has brought renewed focus to the conversation on tackling fuel poverty. It is in no doubt that Housing Associations want to do all they can to help mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on tenants and leaseholders. However, with gas supplies continuing to be disrupted by the impact of the war in Ukraine, there is a need to seriously invest in energy efficient alternative technologies to the gas boiler, to support those who cannot afford the rise in energy bills.
Fuel poverty is a serious issue across the UK, especially for families living in old, energy inefficient housing. As the temperatures drop and the cost of energy rises, tackling this issue is high on the agenda – and housing associations, among others, are addressing it as a top priority. To reduce costs, an increase in energy efficiency is a must, and action needs to be taken as soon as possible to lift households out of fuel poverty.
Alongside fuel poverty, achieving net-zero is another key national issue. For housing associations that we at Mitsubishi Electric are working with, these heating options are not mutually exclusive. Not only does an implementation of energy-efficient measures reduce operating costs, it also slashes the carbon impact of providing power to tenants.
The heat pump revolution is underway in the UK with more and more housebuilders and social housing providers opting for heat pumps rather than the traditional fossil fuelled gas and oil fuelled boilers. The Government has introduced legislation that will see boilers phased out by 2025 in new build properties, but sensibly, many developers are getting ahead of the game and future proofing their new homes and in many cases the heating system upgrades on existing homes as well. The new, easy to install, highly energy efficient air to water heat pumps available now are proving to be hugely popular, with Unitherm already picking up a number of sizeable contracts from social housing providers. And it’s been Unitherm’s ‘All U Need’ approach - full supply, design heat pump package, with a simple to install system and full technical support that is proving popular.
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The fully-financed solar generation and smart battery storage solution will help housing associations meet their carbon reduction targets and alleviate rates of fuel poverty amongst tenants
The UK energy services company, SMS plc, has unveiled a unique new solution that aims to radically reduce carbon emissions of Britain’s social housing stock. Through Solopower, SMS is partnering with local councils and housing associations to significantly upgrade the energy performance of social accommodation, delivering solar generation, battery storage, and smart meters to landlords and their residents at zero upfront cost.
In deploying these smart home energy technologies – which are intelligently controlled and optimised by SMS’s FlexiGrid™ aggregation software – Solopower can decarbonise housing electricity by approximately 90% per home. The solution will therefore contribute to the enhancement of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings and reduce tenant electricity bills by up to 25% (approximately £200 in savings per year).