25 April 2008
Millions of pounds are being wasted by social landlords each year because accommodation provided for elderly people is not energy efficient, says a new report.
A one-off investment of £57m to insulate 800,000 supported homes would save £14.4m per year in fuel bills, while also helping to protect against climate change, says the report by the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes.
Such an investment would be repaid in less than four years and could be partly funded by the industry itself, the report says.
The partnership, which includes local authorities, housing associations and energy suppliers, is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Nicholas Doyle, chair of its managed housing group, said some suppliers did not realise that they could allocate energy-efficiency payments to supported housing for elderly and other vulnerable people.
'A significant proportion of the funding could come from there,' said Doyle, who is project director for sustainability at the Places for People housing association.
'Housing providers could highlight it to energy suppliers as a way of meeting their efficiency targets.'
The EEPH report, published on April 20, says supported housing emits more than 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year — equivalent to the combined energy emissions of households in Leeds and Manchester.
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