Our commitment to reducing running costs of our homes while lowering the environmental impact has been a focus of our work for years. Back in 1998 we began an extensive investment programme and in 2002 we built the award-winning “Energy House”.
We have ambitious environmental goals, which contribute towards achieving net zero carbon emissions targets set by the Government. One example that highlights our commitment to warmer homes and improved energy efficiency for our residents goes back to 1998, when we embarked on a £20m Energy Programme. The programme was set up to improve the condition of our homes, reducing heating costs for existing residents and lowering carbon dioxide emissions.
More than 50% of our residents benefitted from loft and cavity wall insulation and replacement of old windows with double glazing. At the time, awareness of energy efficiency in many of our homes was low; many people simply accepted that in cold weather, their homes were cold.
We then embarked on the innovative build of a prototype home where the energy saving and water conservation measures were “designed in.” The result was Energy House, a three-bedroom home in Kemsing built through collaboration with contractors Forge Llewellyn.
Energy saving measures included solar panels to give hot water, high levels of insulation, zoned heating areas and water saving measures such as spray taps for washbasins.
In 2002, Energy House won an EcoHomes award, the first such recognition for a housing association.
Current ambitions
This laid the foundations for our objective of all West Kent homes having an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C and above by 2030. We recently secured £1.3m of funding to carry out works such as installing air source heat pump heating systems, solar PV panels to generate electricity, and external wall insulation to homes without cavities to insulate, which will help ensure our target is met. You can read more about the funding here: New housing provider consortium set to modernise thousands of homes.