Award-Winning £1.8m Social Housing Heating Project Praised By UK Energy Minister

An award-winning housing association project to help tenants save money on energy bills has continued to garner praise. Burton based, Trent & Dove Housing have been working in partnership with Kensa to install ground source heat pumps (GSHP) to 133 rural sheltered accommodation bungalows scattered across East Staffordshire.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), visited tenant’s homes to see for himself the impact the installation of a renewable heating solution has had on them. Mr Bullock, a Trent & Dove Housing tenant, has lived in his flat for the past nine years. It was previously heated by electric night storage heaters.

Lord Bourne expressed his admiration for the scheme, stating: “Social housing tenants in East Staffordshire are saving hundreds of pounds on their energy bills thanks to Trent & Dove’s innovative project, in partnership with Kensa. “It’s great to see Trent & Dove putting the consumer at the heart of their plans, leading the way for others to follow.” The system approach utilised by this scheme is recognised by DECC and Ofgem as a ‘micro heat network’. Steve Grocock, Director of Property Service at Trent & Dove Housing explained: “Over the last two years, we have been working hard to help our tenants reduce their fuel bills by installing sustainable energy solution such as external wall insulation. “Tenants involved in the first phase of this GSHP scheme are already seeing energy bills reduced by as much as 50%, and, anecdotally, are reporting significant improvements to their health and well-being, as well.

We estimate that tenant electricity costs will be reduced by a total of over £50,000 per year, at an average of £390 per resident. “The average electrical energy consumption of each property is expected to drop by 75%, producing an annual CO2 saving of 2.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide. “At the most local level, we are helping some of the most vulnerable people to stay warm, but the impact of the scheme is much greater still as the reduction in CO2 will benefit on a global scale. “We are delighted that Lord Bourne has chosen to visit our project and we hope more housing associations use the ‘blueprint’ we have created, to access the funding necessary to install innovative heating systems such as GSHP’s to make a real difference to peoples lives”. Trent & Dove Housing are now entering the second phase of this project and are bringing this district heating solution to a further 60 homes in Burton upon Trent. Phase 2 of the GSHP installation project is due for completion this autumn.