Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing joined up with project leads from EQUANS to take a look at the improvements made to homes across the Lanes, East Dene.
217 homes across the estate have been retrofitted in an ambitious project to help save residents money on their heating bills by fitting houses with new triple glazing windows and energy efficient external doors, as well as installing improved insulation to roof spaces. In 48 homes, which still had old central heating boilers, these were replaced with AA-rated, energy-efficient boilers with new heating controls.
The improvements are estimated to reduce energy required to heat residents’ homes, on average, by more than 30 per cent. It will also eliminate 1.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually per house.
Properties at The Lanes, East Dene have become progressively more expensive to heat since they were built in the 1950s and 60s. They were built without roof insulation, making them incompatible with today’s fuel prices, energy efficiency requirements or standards of comfort.
The improvements were made possible by a £4.2 million investment – including £1.14 million that the Council secured from the Government’s Green Homes Grant scheme.
Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Amy Brookes, said: “I am really pleased with the improvement works at The Lanes. In the current economic climate, making savings on energy bills will make a huge difference to people’s lives. We are now looking at other housing developments across the borough to see how we can take this good practice forward and extend the savings to other residents in Rotherham.”
Neil Wright, Head of Operations at EQUANS, said: “We’re delighted with what we’ve achieved here at The Lanes, at a time when it’s never been more important to help residents save money on their energy bills. We’re looking forward to supporting Rotherham Council in their zero carbon ambitions and helping to make many more of the borough’s homes warmer."
As part of its commitment to giving back to the communities in which it works, EQUANS also installed a boiler in The Lanes Community Centre, with staff also carrying out redecorating.