The Wheatley Group's Story
A total of 36 Canadian timber homes in Drumchapel, Glasgow, will benefit from a £1.5 million extensive retrofit programme. Built in a non-traditional post-war style, the semi-detached homes have an external timber frame panel system, low levels of insulation and electric heating. This leads to the buildings being very expensive to heat and means tenants have to pay higher than average fuel bills. Residents in the homes are currently being consulted with works commencing in summer 2022.
GHA, part of Wheatley Group, will replace the timber frame panel system with new energy-efficient external wall insulation - and also fit triple-glazed windows and insulated external doors. Electric heating will be replaced with high-efficiency air source heat pumps, solar panels and a heat recovery system, allowing energy used at the property to be partially self-generated. New external wall insulation will help limit heat loss in the winter and prevent heat build-up in the summer. The project will also make homes quieter through better sound proofing.
These homes have a particularly low EPC (energy performance certificate) rating of an 'E'. The retrofit programme will will bring an estimated 87% reduction in Energy Consumption improving the EPC to a 'B'. It is estimated this will also reduce the annual carbon emission by 7 tonnes per home.
Stephen Devine, Wheatley's Director of Assets and Sustainability, said: "These homes have very low energy performance ratings, and our retrofit work will transform them into some of the most energy-efficient homes we have. It's just one of the steps we're taking to bring net-zero into the heart of our communities as part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability."
The retrofit programme will also be extended to homeowners thanks to £185k funding from the Scottish Government's Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES: ABS) which is administered by Glasgow City Council.
Stephen added: "We want to help our customers reduce the cost of running a home. We will use the feedback and learning from this project to inform future investment work on other non-traditional build homes so we can offer unique solutions to all of our customers."
Useful Learnings from the Wheatley Group
Our first port of call was to complete a Stock Analysis, bringing together the EPC scores of our housing stock in one place. We were then clearly able to see which properties needed an 'uplift' in energy performance - we were also able to see which properties were in more need than others. Our analysis broke down our stock by Archetype, allowing us to see trends between types of property and EPC rating - leading us to the homes in Drumchapel.
We have been involved in a number of boards and panels to share experiences, including but not limited to: ZEST panel, the Sustainable Glasgow Board, the SFHA resilience working group, and the new build technical standards review. These groups are great opportunities to contribute and hear examples, share experiences as well as provide and access insight from across the sector. We have always found exchanging knowledge to be one of the most effective strategies when undertaking innovative projects such as this.
The Wheatley Group's Metrics
Total carbon reduction.
EPC score 'uplift'.
Reduction in customer energy bills.
