another milestone for home energy improvement scheme

More than 2000 believe housing customers are now feeling the benefit of work to make their homes more energy efficient. 

The housing association has received more than £10m from the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), and is investing a further £8.5m, to upgrade around 3,100 homes. 

The ongoing scheme focuses on homes with an Energy Performance Certificate rating below C which most benefit from measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation, ventilation, heating controls, and energy efficient lighting. 

Some homes also receive external wall insulation, floor insulation, and solar panels to generate clean electricity. 

The 2000th property on the scheme was Keeley Dodds’ home, in Bishop Auckland, which she shares with her husband and two children. 

She said: “We got loft and cavity wall insulation, trickle vents on windows, a fan inside to move clean air around, and energy efficient lights. 

“The work was fine, someone kept us informed about what was happening and when, the team was professional and cleaned up after themselves. 

“The cavity wall work was noisy, but to be expected, and honestly, for that little bit of disruption, it’s definitely been worth getting it done. 

“The house is warmer, so we’ve not had to push the heating up as high as we used to, so that’s a bit extra money it’s saved us.” 

Ruth Dent, Director of Assets and Compliance at believe housing, said: “Reaching the 2,000th home on the scheme was a huge achievement and would not have been possible without incredible work by believe housing and our delivery partner RE:GEN Group. 

“Customers are at the heart of everything we do so it is lovely to hear how satisfied they are with the work, which is making their homes warmer, healthier, greener and cheaper to run.” 

Following the scheme’s latest milestone, Guy Woodroffe, SHDF Head of Policy at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, visited County Durham to see it in action. 

Ruth said: “It was great to be able to share our progress on this scheme, and for Guy to be able to hear from our customers about the positive impacts of this work. 

“We were also able to discuss the impact the fund is having on our region and communities by supporting the regional economy, local labour and delivering exceptional social value. 

“We look forward to making a positive impact for more of our customers, the region and the planet as we continue to deliver this scheme and look for opportunities to carry out future works.”