24housing Retrofit Campaign: Andrew Eagles answers five key questions

For anyone in any doubt about the sheer scale of the retrofit challenge currently facing the housing sector, 24housing asked one of the leading experts in the field to kickstart our campaign by outlining some of the key issues that need to be addressed.

In an exclusive Q&A, Andrew Eagles (pictured), the Managing Director of Sustainable Homes, provides an honest appraisal of exactly what is required from the social housing sector and explains why, despite the best efforts of some, we are not doing anywhere near enough.

Why is retrofitting the social housing stock of this country so important?
The Climate Change Act 2008 schedules that by 2020 the UK achieves a 26% reduction in carbon and an 80% reduction by 2050. Housing accounts for 30% of these emissions. Reducing emissions from homes will significantly assist to meet these targets.
But retrofitting the social housing stock is important in itself. Improvements to homes mean:
a) Residents enjoying significantly lower fuel bills, saving hundreds of pounds a year and reducing fuel poverty.
b) Improving the air quality of homes.
c) Reducing the risk of overheating and flooding.

Are social landlords currently doing enough? Should the sector be taking the lead?
To reach the 2050 goal, 26million homes need to be refurbished to near zero carbon. That is 625,000 homes needing to be refurbished a year or 12,000 a week, if we start on January 1 2010. The most remarkable thing about this challenge is that there are fewer than 100 homes in the country which have achieved this. The Chief Scientific adviser to Government has stated that; “the retrofit challenge is the most difficult engineering challenge this country has faced since WWII.”

Significant works are needed to a great number of homes. Social landlords are leading on the types of work needed. Leading associations are trying things out. Hyde Housing Association refurbished a terraced house to 80% less carbon last year in a project called retrofit and replicate. This project is impressive. The improvement is significant considering the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) was already reasonable. Secondly the impacts of the works are being monitored. Brilliant.

Gentoo Housing Group is providing honest concise reports on the approaches that best worked when installing low carbon measures into existing homes. The results might surprise you. How many homes did they need to look at to find 100 that could incorporate solar thermal? Check it out at www.sustainablehomes.co.uk

While these exemplar projects are useful these types of works are needed on a grand scale.

With a squeeze on funding expected across the social housing sector during the next couple of years, is it realistic to expect landlords to treat retrofitting as a priority?
The change will only come when Government sufficiently incentivises refurbishing through regulation or through grant. The Existing Homes Alliance estimates that refurbishing to low carbon (60% less) currently costs £20,000 and extremely low (80% less) costs £40,000.  These costs are likely to be lower when undertaken on a large scale but it does illustrate that low carbon refurbishment is not to be undertaken lightly.

Some potential funding mechanisms are being piloted. Here are two potentially useful avenues:
1. The Pay As You Save model. This is a principle where a loan is provided to a house for energy efficient improvements. The pay back is financed through these improvements. When people move on the link is kept with the house. The Conservative Party have committed over £6,000 per house to a policy that looks similar to this. I sit on the group overseeing the pilots. There are some interesting proposals to be taking ahead.
2. Feed-in tariffs also have potential.  The Government is currently considering the tariffs and how this could work but the consultation proposal included a tariff for electricity generated by renewable systems, with an additional bonus for energy exported to the grid. Being paid more for energy you do not use is likely to encourage energy efficiency. As an illustration, a house using 4,500 kWh/yr, at a standard rate of 10p would cost £450 a year. Where that house is able to generate 1,200 kWh/yr and export 500 kWh/yr, the homeowner earns £55per year. A potential saving of £505 a year when compared with costs of £450. It will be useful to see what Government decides. As fuel prices rise, the returns from feed-in tariffs have the potential to make a contribution.
In the absence of being able to afford super low carbon on all homes the main thing affordable housing providers can do is learn.

The goal is mammoth. If you have housing stock, you could pilot an improvement. If you own a home, you should be considering initial steps for improving it.  While this is useful most learning will come from piloting low carbon refurbishment. This allows your supply chain and builders to start learning techniques that will be necessary in the medium term. 

Are the main political parties taking retrofit seriously?
Government are taking some steps. Funding through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target has increased by 20%. Standard measures are still the main stay (lofts, cavity walls and lighting) but there is now opportunity to support demonstration projects, trialling new products and schemes and assessing customer reactions.

The Community Energy Savings Programme provides whole house energy efficiency improvements. CESP is expected to deliver savings of up to £300 for residents as they go street by street improving homes. One of the issues that we might need to get on top of is, compulsion. If we are moving along a street improving it, it will be extremely cost efficient to improve all houses on the street.

Following CESP it is expected that the Heat and Energy Savings Strategy will provide a trajectory to zero carbon for all homes. Wow. The potential is exciting. Should we get this right it is not just carbon that will be lost:

• Ditching the leaks means - healthier homes;
• Incorporating adaption measures  means ditching overheating;
• Ditching inefficient taps, baths and showers means lower water bills; and 
• Ditches or permeable paving means ditching expensive flood damage.

They have also included the sentiment that “every house have a whole house assessment by 2030 and every house be refurbished to at least 80% less carbon by 2050” (Heat and Energy Savings Strategy).  While the above initiatives are a start it is the last initiative on which much of the move to low carbon hangs.  It is hoped the funding matches these ambitions.

Have you been impressed with the work of some social landlords? 
In addition to the works of Gentoo and Hyde Housing association, some local authorities have also provided impressive exemplars. Camden for instance carried out an impressive low carbon retrofit.

The Victorian home, built in 1850, has undergone improvements that could cut carbon emissions by up to 80%. The aims of the project were to show how Victorian dwellings can be refurbished to address both heritage and energy.  Camden has over 9,500 solid wall properties, many of which are similar to this house.

Chit Chong from Camden Council worked hard on the project and it includes increased roof insulation and air tightness, floor and wall insulation, solar UV panels, solar hot water, heat recovery ventilation, rainwater harvesting and double glazed windows.

Also the Energy Savings Trust and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea provided an interesting example of a conservation property refurbished. They cut the carbon emissions of a five-storey Victorian terrace house by 60%. These 23 bedsits, formerly damp and mouldy now have lower fuel bills and better daylight levels.

These are exemplar one-off projects. It is important to remember the challenge. The country needs 26million existing homes refurbished to zero carbon. In order to move forward we need thousands of projects like these set out here. 

It is important to note that although much of this is lead by a lower carbon goal, improvements to homes mean a higher quality of life, lower fuel bills, better air quality of homes and warmer homes.

When you hear from the previous Chief Scientific Adviser to the government, that ‘refurbishing our existing housing stock is the single biggest engineering challenge this country has ever faced’, there are two possible reactions. Is it an impossible task or a task that can significantly improve everyone’s lives?  Where do you sit?

Andrew Eagles is Managing Director of Sustainable Homes, a leading training and advisory consultancy for the housing sector working in the field of sustainability.

He has spoken at numerous national conferences on everything from modern methods of construction to housing quality indicators. He is a Code for Sustainable Homes and National Home Energy Rating scheme accredited assessor.