Moat’s Energiesprong journey so far
At Moat we’re proud of our commitment to environmental sustainability and performance, which is why we were so keen to get involved with the Energiesprong concept.
Our sustainability strategy focuses on developing environmentally friendly homes that help to prevent fuel poverty and reduce carbon footprints. However to bring some of our older homes in line with the strategy, we needed a more innovative solution. Whole house retrofits help to reduce carbon emissions as a direct result of installing energy efficiency measures. The concept also helps tackle the number of households that are in fuel poverty by producing highly insulated homes with the ability to generate energy on site, which can be used for heating, lighting and hot water. All of this is what made the Dutch Energiesprong model so appealing.
To test and improve the commercial viability of the Energiesprong concept in the UK we are delighted to be a partner in the EU’s Interreg NWE E=0 project, which provides funding for a pilot of ten whole-house retrofits in Maldon, Essex. We have a lot of homes in the area as well as a strong, productive relationship with the local authority. In the past we’ve also carried out other energy efficiency initiatives in Maldon, such as external wall insulation projects and air source heat pump installations.
For the pilot project we needed to narrow down a list of 900 potential homes to just 20. Using Google’s street view function as well as satellite imagery, we were able to visualise which houses would be suitable for the innovative retrofit approach. Semi- detached houses lend themselves well to the concept, which is why they feature prominently in the 20 homes on the shortlist.
Our next step is to half our prospective pilot homes to just ten by recording building data, carrying out energy assessments and undertaking stock condition surveys. We’ll soon meet with the people living in the
homes on our retrofit shortlist to discuss their energy bills and get their input into the energy efficiency of each home
We’re really looking forward to enhancing the appearance and comfort of our homes as we want our customers to love where they live – and it is equally important that our homes are affordable to run. However as a social landlord we also have a commitment to consider the health and wellbeing of our customers. Retrofitting our homes with energy efficient technologies has clear health benefits to those who live in them, supporting our shared aim with Energiesprong of delivering desirable, warm and affordable homes for life.