Industry Leader Case Studies: Keepmoat Whole-House Retrofit, Rotherham

Friday, 12 August 2011 13:42

In 2010, Keepmoat delivered a ‘deep’ domestic retrofit project in Rotherham as part of a Technology Savings Board pilot programme aiming to reduce tenants’ fuel bills, reduce their CO2 emissions, and give them a far greater living standard in their newly-refurbished homes.

While the properties were post-war three-bedroom, terraced homes typical of the area, all were already insulated to a reasonable energy efficiency standard including double glazing and loft insulation. The project therefore focussed taking the properties to the ‘next level’.
Work started with reducing remaining areas of heat loss through the installation of measures such as a very high standard of insulation and mechanical ventilation heat recovery, before moving on to install more costly renewable technologies such as photovoltaic and solar thermal panels and biomass boilers.

Importantly, the renovations attempted to avoid prematurely replacing existing fittings that were not yet at the end of their usable life. Such an approach was not only more cost-effective, but also more sustainable as it avoided wasting all the resources and energy that have gone into producing and installing the existing materials. New materials were also selected based on their environmental impact (for example wood fibre insulation boards were used to insulate the walls). Care also needed to be taken to find ways to minimise the disruption to tenants, since in most cases they remained in the properties for the duration of the work.

The measures installed varied across the six properties, which will allow a comparison of their relative effectiveness. To this end, the scheme is now being monitored for two years through the Energy Savings Trust to accurately assess the fuel and carbon savings that are made.

“We found a difference in heating and sound-wise, it’s really like having a new home to us.”

(Mrs Dalton, 2010 Rotherham Resident)

For more information, see the video hosted here.

Project summary:

Organisation: Keepmoat in Collaboration with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and 2010 Rotherham.
Project costs: £128,000 (6 properties, average £21,333 per property).
Measures installed: Brief description of the works: High efficiency triple glazing (three properties); high efficiency, argon filled double glazing (three properties), external wall insulation; floor insulation; additional loft insulation; photovoltaic panels (three properties); solar thermal panels (three properties); biomass boilers (two properties); mechanical ventilation heat recovery; A rated combination gas boilers (two properties); zoned heating controls; voltage reduction wiring; water saving devices; A++ appliances.
Annual emissions reductions achieved: 84.7% (average)
Annual energy bill reductions achieved: 73.6% (average)