Around 130,000 low-income households could see bills slashed as their homes receive energy efficiency upgrades through the Government’s Help to Heat funding.
Up to £1.5 billion is being made available allowing social housing providers and local authorities to submit bids for funding to upgrade the properties of around 130,000 low-income and social households.
The funding will see the installation of measures such as external wall and loft insulation, energy efficient doors and windows, heat pumps and solar panels with multiple measures often being installed in a single home to considerably improve the energy performance.
Local authorities and social housing providers will be able to submit bids for funding and will deliver upgrades from early next year until March 2025 building on more than 30,000 homes already being upgraded under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) schemes.
As part of the Government’s Growth Plan the schemes could together support 19,000 green energy sector jobs.
Social housing with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or lower will be eligible to receive SHDF upgrades while the HUG funding will help people who are most vulnerable to fuel poverty.
SHDF wave two grant funding will see around 100,000 social homes receiving energy efficiency upgrades with estimated average energy bill reductions of around £400 a year at current prices.
In 2010 just 14 per cent of UK homes had an Energy Performance of C or above however it is now at 46 per cent and rising with the social housing sector up from 18 per cent in 2008 to around 66 per cent.
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