Helping People Retrofit Their Homes
For the past year, we’ve been supporting residents across Manchester, Tameside, Rochdale and Oldham through the Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) programme, part of a £2.14m initiative funded by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and the North West Net Zero Hub.
What we’re doing
Our role in this initiative is to support groups of people who are most at risk of fuel poverty, and who live in properties that are considered to have low energy performance ratings, to start the retrofit process.
If they meet the eligibility criteria, we can help them to apply via the online portal. For many of the people we work with, the application process can be challenging as it require several pieces of evidence, which we help them to obtain. Once the application is fully complete their application it is then picked up by a local installer who will guide them through the retrofit process.
Depending on the resident’s needs, installations can range from new heating systems and windows to loft and wall insulation.
Our progress so far
Since the start of the programme, we’ve engaged with over 2,500 people across Greater Manchester through 109 events, and provided bespoke advise to 841 home owners and renters, supporting them to start their journeys to more energy efficient, cost effective homes.
Our work in Roch Vale Caravan Park
As a pilot scheme, we were keen to explore whether thermal drone imagery could help residents understand and engage with the scheme, highlighting where heat can escape from.
Our chosen site was Roch Vale Caravan Park, in which we assessed a number of properties across the park and took a range of before and after photos.
After installers implemented changes to properties across the site, we revisited a year later to capture identical drone shots, exploring the effectiveness of the energy efficiency measures.
For this property, wall insulation was added to ensure that less heat escapes. The colour difference in the before and after images shows that the insulation is keeping more heat in, as the external walls are now darker. This results in a warmer, more energy efficient home.
Bringing retrofit solutions to life
We created a model home, which showcases all the different ways a home can be modified to improve it’s energy performance.
This helps our team discuss various measures with residents, what they look like and how they can benefit their homes.
It’s important that residents understand the significance of a greener future, and the role they can play in climate action.
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