Newham Homes invests in green technology

As part of a £372 million programme of refurbishment, Newham Homes, the London Borough of Newham’s ALMO (Arms-length Management Organisation), has replaced the heating systems and installed Baxi Solarflo solar thermal domestic hot water systems in selected properties.

Newham Homes is refurbishing Newham Council’s housing stock to provide homes that go beyond the requirements of the Government’s Decent Homes initiative, upgrading them to its ‘Modern Homes’ standard. The solar installations are part of its drive to address fuel poverty and to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The three-storey town houses on the Jeyes estate in Plaistow have had Baxi Solarflo in-roof flat plate solar collectors installed and Heatrae Sadia 210 litre Megatech solar cylinders installed in airing cupboards, along with the solar controllers. The panels were fitted by specialist solar accredited installer Greentherm. Social housing contractor eps (Environmental Property Services) carried out the heating system installations, as well as the other improvements and updates including new kitchens and bathrooms.

Les Hayward, lead design consultant on the project for Newham Homes, explained: “This programme is intended to deliver a pilot project for solar water heating. We will be monitoring the impact on our residents’ energy consumption, and therefore the reduction in fuel bills and fuel poverty.

“At Newham Homes, we are very proud of our commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. We have won extra funding for our being one of the leading London boroughs in the fight against carbon dioxide waste in London.”

In the six months since the installations were completed, residents have noticed the benefits of the solar thermal system. “There is always plenty of hot water when I need it, and I am already £60 in credit on my fuel bill,” said one. “We haven’t had to change our lives to work round the new system; it’s just there, and does a great job. We’re really happy with it.”

On completion of refurbishment, eps leaves the tenant with a Resident Completion Pack together with instructions on the products installed and general maintenance and service information.

‘Newham Homes is committed to making a step-change in the energy efficiency of the homes we manage’, added Les Crossland, Head of Asset Management, ‘and we have already made a lot of progress in terms of insulation and installing more energy efficient boilers. Not only is this beneficial to the environment, but it reduces the fuel poverty many of our tenants would face. Solar water heating goes a step further, and the pilot shows it is effective and worth-while. However, to roll it out on a large scale and ‘mainstream’ it across our programmes, we would need access to more funding.’

eps provides social housing landlords with complete domestic heating packages, from specification, installation and annual gas safety inspections which are either stand alone or integrated within Decent Homes projects. For more information visit www.epsplc.com