Housing project to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions wins national award

The NPH ‘Whole House Retrofit Programme’, was crowned the ‘Best Net Zero Carbon Initiative’ at the NHMF Conference Awards 2024. NPH are leading the way in whole house retrofit - being one of only a handful of social housing providers that have successfully secured funding from all three waves of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).

The project has transformed what were some of the least energy efficient homes by reducing space heating demand by up to 70%, significantly reducing the risk of fuel poverty in these households. These homes were often expensive to heat and energy inefficient – with an EPC rating of band D or below - due to the way they were built.

NPH resident, Aliye, lives in one of the first homes to be retrofitted during the Demo phase. She reported that: “Because of the new insulation and windows, our home is no longer drafty and once it’s warm, it stays warm.

"The works have transformed the outside of the house too – it looks really great and much more appealing. To anyone offered energy efficiency measures, I’d say go for it – we have had no regrets.”

The current wave of the project, which is due for completion in Spring 2024, has installed a range of energy efficiency measures into homes in the Abington, St James, Kingsthorpe, Kingsthorpe Hollow, and Kingsley areas of the town. The selected properties, which were all built in the 1920s and 1930s, have seen improvements such as external wall insulation, loft insulation top-up, new windows and doors, and mechanical ventilation.

Andrea Johnson, NPH’s Head of Asset Investment, is delighted with the recognition and said:

“This project has aimed to make homes better for the people who live in them, improving energy efficiency and reducing the risk of fuel poverty. It’s a challenging process for all involved, particularly for the residents living through the retrofit process, so we’re extremely grateful for the patience shown by our residents as we make these important improvements.

“Amongst all the challenges and learning opportunities, the project team have achieved some fantastic outcomes and winning a national award demonstrates NPH’s continued sector leading application of fabric first deep retrofit, with support from West Northamptonshire Council and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.”

In March this year, NPH announced they were successful in their application to the SHDF to update a further 101 council-owned homes. Works are expected to commence in early 2024.

To find out more about Northamptonshire Partnership Homes, visit www.nph.org.uk