Energy saving show home
Working with our contractor, Morgan Sindall Property Services, we retrofitted a one-bedroom terraced flat in Queens Park to test and demonstrate and a wide range of retrofit measures including:
- internal wall and underfloor insulation
- thermally efficient windows and doors
- replacing the gas boiler with an energy-efficient air source heat pump
- changing the gas cooker to an electric hob, eliminating gas use at the property
- powering the home by solar panels on the roof with battery storage.
These works reduced the energy required to heat the home by over half and are expected to virtually eliminate the need for electricity from the grid.
The home’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating has increased from a D rating to a B rating and energy bills are expected to fall from over £1,400 a year to near zero, at December 2022 energy prices.
During summer 2022 we opened the show home for tours, and received well over 300 visitors including council tenants, homeowners, landlords, and officers from London boroughs and housing associations. Feedback was overwhelming positive with attendees now more likely to insulate, undertake window improvements, install solar PV.
It was enormously helpful. In 10 minutes I could see and understand the improvements and the technology, which would have taken me several hours of research on the internet.
Susan, Little Venice resident
The show home won the “Best Net Zero Carbon Initiative” award at the 2023 National Housing Maintenance Awards. Lessons from delivering the show home are being used to shape our ongoing support for home retrofit across Westminster.
The home will shortly be rented, and we will monitor the impact of the improvements and compare these against the expected changes. This will help inform our ongoing investment in improving the Council’s housing stock.
While the measures we implemented here may vary to your home, the principles remain the same – retrofitting your home can deliver significant energy savings while improving home health and comfort.
Read our interactive case study
