Almost 200 Wakefield District Housing homes benefit from home energy improvements
Almost 200 Wakefield District Housing (WDH) homes are benefitting from warmer, more energy efficient homes thanks to a retrofit project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The trial project, funded by £2.8 million from the ERDF, saw WDH work alongside energy and regeneration expert Equans to make improvements to wall and loft insulation, air tightness and ventilation in 198 homes in Airedale.
Intelligent air bricks have also been installed, which are designed to reduce heat loss and help manage ventilation, as well as thermostat units to help residents manage their energy usage.
The project is anticipated to save 248 tonnes of carbon escaping into the atmosphere each year across the 198 homes retrofitted in Airedale.
Peter Holland, of Airedale, was one of the tenants to benefit from the work. He said: “My concern was the heat retention in the house, our gas was on most of the day through winter. Since we have had the work done the heat is staying in our house much more and our bills have improved. We are really happy with the results.”
Andy Wallhead, Chief Executive at WDH, said: “We are incredibly pleased to be delivering energy efficiency and cost-effective retrofits to our customers. Improving the energy performance supports our continued efforts to decarbonise our homes whilst providing warmer, more efficient places for our tenants to live. This, and future retrofit projects will not only help our region lower its carbon emissions, but it will also enable our tenants to save money on bills, support their health and wellbeing, tackle fuel poverty and create jobs, which is what we need during a cost of living and climate crisis.”
This project supports the UK Government’s 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions target to make our homes more energy efficient.
We’re pleased that residents are already benefitting from these improvements, and we hope that this scheme will help to pave the way for more retrofit projects in the area. It’s been a pleasure to work collaboratively with WDH and the local community, and to use our carbon reduction expertise to create warmer, healthier, and cheaper to run homes for so many residents.
About Equans
Equans is a market leader in the sector with 74,000 employees leveraging 200 years of expertise. With revenues of €12 billion, Equans is present in 17 countries - mostly across Europe, but also with significant interests in North America, Latin America and Australia.
In the UK & Ireland, Equans is a provider of technical, FM, regeneration and energy services – with specialist capabilities in smart buildings, green mobility, district & embedded energy and decentralised renewables.
