Low Carbon Lymm recently organised a research visit to Golden Gates Housing Association to gain some insight into the associations performance upgrades on a range of homes around Warrington.
The event was attended by a selection of organisations including ourselves, local residents & businesses, local landlords, and the neighbouring St.Helens Council.
The event included a tour of several recent upgrade projects to insulate older properties, to install solar thermal and solar PV panels.
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| A Golden Gates Housing Association property on the left upgraded with external wall insulation and solar PV, attached to a private resident property on the right who took up the offer to externally insulate as part of same works, minimising their costs. |
These upgrades are giving tenants more comfortable homes to live in which can stay warmer for longer with drafts minimised, mechanical ventilation inserted to provide fresh air – pre-warmed through heat recovery – to kitchens and bathrooms. Voltage optimiser units have been installed to make the electricity coming into each property go further as most appliances do not use the full voltage coming in from either solar PV or a standard electrical supply from the street.
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| Heat recovery extractor fan example |
A reduced demand for energy usage combined with the solar panels providing on site generation of hot water and electricity free of charge to tenants is helping to minimise bills whilst also providing the not for profit association with a feed-in tariff payback to fund future projects.
For advice on energy saving measures, The Energy Saving Trust and its partners offers impartial advice to householders and communities.