Published: 09 November 2022
From: Environment
A whole house retrofit in Crawley has seen a council tenant’s fuel bills fall by 80 per cent.
Crawley Borough Council, in partnership with decarbonisation consultants NetZero Collective and Liberty, have retrofitted 10 council homes with renewable technologies including solar panels, battery storage and air source heat pumps to replace existing gas boilers.
In October 2021 Glenn Meads, of Bewbush, was one of the first tenants in Crawley to take part in the council’s decarbonisation project. Work took four months to complete and Mr Meads and his family are now reaping the benefits of a low carbon home.
The whole-house retrofit is saving the family 80 per cent on their monthly fuel bills. The new technology has also improved the house’s energy performance certificate (EPC) from a C to a B.
The 46-year-old, who lives with his wife and three children, said: “So far we’ve saved £80 a month. It’s quite a major difference so I’m pleased with it left, right and centre really.
“Everything is working well, during last winter the system kept the house heated to a constant temperature and in the summer, the solar panels and battery have saved me 80 per cent on my energy bill, as promised.”
The latest whole-house retrofit completed is in Southgate and was completed when the house was empty.
It was a pleasure to see the latest retrofitted property and to hear of the incredible financial and carbon savings being made. The new tenants should see a similar level of savings on their energy bills that Glenn has achieved. This has been a great success and I look forward to seeing more installations in the future, which will also greatly help the council towards meeting its ambitious climate change decarbonisation targets.
Councillor Michael Jones
Leader
Crawley Borough Council
We often hear from people that heat pumps won’t work in the UK, or that they can only work in super-insulated homes. But this is proof that decarbonisation and lower fuel bills can be achieved by combining technologies like air source heat pumps with solar PV and battery storage, in homes that are insulated to good, and easily achievable levels. Taking this approach can help keep the cost of retrofit down for landlords, whilst still delivering energy bill savings for their tenants, and I’m really pleased to hear that Glenn is benefiting from our work.
Neil Waite
Collective Director
NetZero
Together with low-carbon energy specialists and academic research partners including the University of Southampton, NetZero Collective is supporting landlords across the UK to produce evidence-based decarbonisation plans, aligned to PAS2035.
NetZero Collective continues to work closely with Crawley Borough Council to plan and support the delivery of decarbonisation of the council’s homes, aligned to the local authority’s goal of being net-zero by 2040.
For more information on the climate emergency in Crawley visit our climate emergency page.
For more information on the NetZero Collective visit their website.
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