housing

A number of homes near Nottingham have become the first in the country to be upgraded to the energy efficiency standards expected in 2050. The 10 apartments in Sneinton have been fitted with new outside walls, a solar roof and upgraded heating systems as part of a pilot project designed to make older homes more […]

The UK Government should increase its support of ‘Show Homes’ to inspire energy efficient retrofits. That’s according to a new study from the National Energy Foundation (NEF), which demonstrates the benefits of Show Homes in raising awareness of energy savings through retrofit and renovation. In particular, it identifies the award-winning SuperHomes as beacons of inspiration for homeowners – these are more […]

Cities in the UK should be given more power to raise the bar on green new-build housing. The UK Green Building Council’s (UK GBC) latest paper proposes government should allow local authorities to take leadership of delivering sustainable new homes and communities to tackle the housing and climate crises. Its release follows the government’s scaling […]

New modular homes could help solve both the climate and housing crises. A partnership between the WElink Group and housing association Your Housing Group (YHG) could result in 25,000 of the low carbon buildings being built each year by 2022. The £2.5 billion deal, which also involves Barcelona Housing Systems and investment from the China National Building […]

A bank is offering £15 million of finance to help tackle fuel poverty in the UK. Triodos Bank has created what it claims to be an industry-first lending pot to help social housing providers pay for energy efficiency measures needed to improve vulnerable tenants’ standard of living. The money will also pay for green spaces to be developed. […]

The approach to retrofitting the UK’s homes with energy saving features needs to be more targeted. Otherwise, installing the measures won’t effectively contribute to decarbonising the UK heat sector, according to a new report from the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). Almost a fifth of the UK’s emissions come from heating the 28 million homes across the country. The report suggests ‘blanket’ or ‘deep’ […]

Tenants are likely to bear the brunt of new energy efficiency laws for the private rental sector. From 2018, it will be illegal for private landlords to rent out properties with ‘F’ and ‘G’ energy efficiency ratings, meaning they will have to pay up to £5,000 for improvements. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is worried […]

A project has helped 330 social housing tenants reduce their energy bills and cut carbon emissions by 16,000 tonnes. An average semi-detached property has made savings of £260 a year, according to EDF Energy. The energy supplier worked with Westdale Services Ltd and Rykneld Homes to install insulation and double glazing into the inefficient properties in […]

A new docklands development will use combined heat and power (CHP) technology which will supply low carbon energy to 20,000 Londoners. It will also help cut carbon emissions by 1,800 tonnes each year – equivalent to removing 1,400 cars from the road and contributing towards the capital’s aim of reducing them by 60% by 2025. […]

A net-zero housing refurbishment initiative has secured €5.4m (£4.23m) of European funding. The funding will be channelled into both retrofit and new-build housing in the UK, France and the Netherlands. The bid was undertaken by Energiesprong UK on behalf of all the project partners and a total of nearly €1.8 million (£1.4m) is allocated to three […]