Review of the delivery tools used to improve hard to treat homes
research for the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes.
The Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes comissioned ACE to undertake a review of the delivery tools used to improve hard to treat homes (HTTH). The aim of the research was to produce a raft of informed policy recommendations to promote a significant scale up of the improvement of HTTH and and inform the future activities of the Partnership’s HTTH sub-group.
The project involved an analysis of the measures that are needed to improve HTTH that are not at present being delivered at sufficient scale, the funding available now and in the near future and the delivery mechanisms, in the form of projects and programmes, that have been used to deliver HTT measures (see database below).
The research report outlines a detailed raft of recommendations arising from the research which centre around the need to mainstream the more expensive measures that are used to treat hard to treat homes. The report also reveals the need to place more emphasis on insulation measures and urgently address the current situation in which the fuel poor living in hard to treat homes are paying for energy efficiency schemes but are not benefitting from the most appropriate improvements to their homes.
Developing a website and forum for Housing, Health and Fuel Poverty
- website for UKPHA's housing, health and fuel poverty forum.
ACE has been working with the UK Public Health Association to develop a website for their housing, health and fuel poverty forum. www.warmerhealthyhomes.org.uk
The Forum seeks to assist cross-sector working to tackle cold homes by providing a forum for professionals - in the health, housing and energy sectors - to discuss and exchange their experiences of efforts to help people who are at risk from cold, damp homes. The new site aims to facilitate this, by encouraging affordable warmth schemes to tell it like it is, and as it happens – with the objective of bringing and keeping best practice up to date and accessible.
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Warm Homes, Green Jobs
New report finds energy saving could create 10,000 jobs in Scotland
Cutting climate change pollution from Scottish homes could create 10,000 new jobs, according to a new report published today. "Warm Homes, Green Jobs", a study by the Association for the Conservation of Energy and Dr Joanne Wade, also found that achieving a 42% cut in pollution levels from Scots dwellings by 2020 would provide a £4bn boost to the economy.
The study concluded that meeting the targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 would need the installation of over 1.5 million efficient boilers, 1.8 million solar panels, 2.2 million draft-proofing strips and 1.5 million loft insulation packages, as well as smaller numbers of wood fuel boilers and insulation for solid wall. The combined cost of the measures was estimated as £13.4bn in addition to current investment plans, which would deliver a gross value added (GVA) to the economy of £4bn and create or safeguard 10,200 jobs over the 10 years to 2020.
Figures and tables illustrating the challenge of tackling fuel poverty
commissioned by the Greater London Authority
The challenge posed by fuel poverty in London is different in nature to other regions of the country. The Greater London Authority commissioned the ACE Research Team, Impetus Consulting, Richard Moore and the Centre for Sustainable Energy to understand and illustrate the nature of the problem in order to inform London's new Housing, and Climate Change and Energy Strategies.
Using the Government’s definition of fuel poverty around 10 per cent of London’s households are classed as fuel poor. However, when higher housing costs are taken into account, this rises to 24 per cent of London’s households. If the additional income requirements that larger families need for them to enjoy the same quality of life as those single or in smaller families, 36 per cent of London’s householders are classed as experiencing fuel poverty, with the majority of the increase in households with children under the age of 16 years.
The report found that the most significant determinant is income, with Londoners in the lowest quintile of income over 117 times more likely to be fuel poor than households who are not. The next most significant determinants are the cost of energy and housing type.
Although the energy efficiency of London’s homes is being improved, more activity is necessary to prevent Londoners from falling into fuel poverty.
Tackling fuel poverty by investing in energy efficiency
report to Consumer Focus
Consumer Focus commissioned the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to investigate the impact of carrying out a major retrofit energy efficiency programme in England that would bring the properties of ‘fuel poor’ households up to a target SAP81 or Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band B standard. The information was required to provide evidence for a fuel poverty bill before Parliament, which seeks to tackle fuel poverty by improving the energy efficiency of homes. The bill proposes target standards of EPC band B, or in the case of ‘hard to treat’ properties, EPC band C. The standards were selected on the basis that they would ensure the vast majority of households living in improved properties could enjoy ‘affordable warmth’ and no longer live in fuel poverty. For this reason, the programme is referred to as ‘fuel poverty proofing’ properties.
This report presents the results of the research. The research uses modelled data from the 2006 English House Condition Survey. In brief, the research found that the proposed retrofit programme would almost entirely eliminate fuel poverty in England. It would also prevent the risk of fuel poverty re-occurring in the future.
This study reviews the current literature, and maps the existing knowledge and opinion on the links between three types of low energy lamps (CFLs, LEDs and metal halides) and health, in order to establish the level of current understanding.
The study was undertaken in the context of the early stages of the voluntary agreement between Government and major retailers to implement a stepped phase‐out of all incandescent lamps by not replenishing stocks. This voluntary agreement and the widespread provision of CFLs directly to households through the Supplier Obligation (EEC 1 and 2 and CERT) have placed considerable attention on CFLs, which, in the short term at the very least, will be the successors to incandescent lamps. The two other low energy lamps, metal halides and light emitting diodes (LEDs), have received far less academic and media attention, since, for the former, the lamps are unlikely to be used in a domestic setting thus reducing public concern, and the latter, because the technology at the time of writing was not yet widely commercially available at competitive prices.
Review of the market for community energy saving partnerships
- report to the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes.
In November the Research Team and CSE were commissioned by the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes to undertake a review of community partnership projects in order to inform the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) that was announced by HMG in September.
The review concludes that though the activity of community groups identified in the study is largely driven by the climate change agenda there is also considerable potential to target the fuel poor by embedding the programme within existing area based regeneration and neighbourhood renewal schemes that are driven by the needs of the most deprived communities. These schemes have already spent many years building up trusted relationships with the most vulnerable members of society. The development of community relations and trust, both between partner organisations and between these and targeted households, takes time. Building successful referral networks also takes a considerable amount of time, expertise and effort. It would therefore be advisable to work with existing referral networks where possible. If CESP is to really engage the most vulnerable members of society it will be important to work through, and very closely with, these intermediary organisations and existing drivers of community and area-based activity on level terms.
The challenge posed by fuel poverty in London is different in nature to other regions of the country. The Greater London Authority commissioned the ACE Research Team, Impetus Consulting, Richard Moore and the Centre for Sustainable Energy to understand and illustrate the nature of the problem in order to inform London's new Housing, and Climate Change and Energy Strategies.
Consumer Focus commissioned the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to investigate the impact of carrying out a major retrofit energy efficiency programme in England that would bring the properties of ‘fuel poor’ households up to a target SAP81 or Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band B standard. The information was required to provide evidence for a fuel poverty bill before Parliament, which seeks to tackle fuel poverty by improving the energy efficiency of homes. The bill proposes target standards of EPC band B, or in the case of ‘hard to treat’ properties, EPC band C. The standards were selected on the basis that they would ensure the vast majority of households living in improved properties could enjoy ‘affordable warmth’ and no longer live in fuel poverty. For this reason, the programme is referred to as ‘fuel poverty proofing’ properties.
Mapping knowledge on low energy lamps and health