Plan to make York Council houses more energy efficient

A strategic and comprehensive plan to improve the energy efficiency of council homes in York is being proposed.

These proposals will improve the quality of residents’ lives, tackle fuel poverty and contribute to the city achieving carbon neutral status by 2030.

Ongoing works to install insulation and fuel efficiency works in York’s 7,500 council homes has meant two thirds of them have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above – recognised by the Government as the minimum standard which all homes should aim to achieve in the future. The remaining homes require more complex works due to their non-standard construction in order to bring them up to EPC C levels. Retrofit improvements such as fitting internal or external insulation and ground source heat pumps will ensure the homes are warmer and more affordable to heat.

A report recommends that an approved budget of £1m is allocated to retrofitting the first phase of homes, with works starting in summer 2021. These works will bring around 60 poorer-performing homes up to an EPC C rating. Alongside this initial programme of works, a longer term approach to retrofit more homes over the medium and longer term will be developed. One third of all the city’s carbon emissions come from domestic buildings, therefore it is important that a strategy is developed to ensure retrofit works are delivered across the city.

To help deliver these energy saving and carbon reduction measures, the council will develop a strategy for upskilling local tradespeople to undertake retrofit works to meet the growing demand.

Building up a supply chain of retrofit contractors would dovetail with the council’s Economic Strategy and support new jobs.

New energy efficiency grants available in York

cavity-wall-insulation-illustration-244136 Grants and loans will be available to less well off households towards the cost of cavity wall and loft insulation. A small number of grants are also available to insulate loft extensions and solid walls.

Households with annual incomes below £20,000 per year could receive 100 per cent funding whilst those with annual incomes between £20,000 and £35,000 could receive 75 per cent towards the cost of the improvements.

Qualifying households will be in the five priority wards:

Micklegate,
Guildhall,
Holgate,
Clifton and
Fishergate.

These have been identified as having higher numbers of poorly-insulated privately rented or owned homes and where households suffer higher rates of fuel poverty.

City of York Council will be working with Willmott Dixon to deliver these energy efficiency measures through the Better Homes Yorkshire framework set up to support the ten local authorities in the Leeds City Region to work together to secure funding and improve properties.

This funding follows the council’s Northern Health and Housing Summit ‘Better Homes, Better Health’ held in York in June this year, when the impact of cold and how to tackle it was a central theme.

Research commissioned by the council from the Building Research Establishment identified that cold homes are associated with a range of poor health outcomes such as respiratory andcirculatory problems, and can exacerbate certain conditions including asthma, diabetes. Recovery following hospital discharge can also take longer and sometimes increases the risk of conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Eligible residents living in the priority wards who need cavity wall or loft insulation should contact the council’s Housing Standards and Adaptations team on 01904 552300 or email housing.standards@york.gov.uk. Residents not living in these wards but who have low incomes with high heating costs may also be eligible for help and should also call 01904 552300.

For help with energy debts or other advice contact Citizens Advice York on 03444 111 444, visit www.yorkcab.org.uk; or contact Age UK York on 01904 627995.
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Save money in 2016 by switching energy provider

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City of York Council is encouraging residents to see if they could save money though 2016 and beyond by switching their gas and electricity providers.

Residents can join the switch until Monday 1 February. Over 200 residents took part in the latest switch with people saving on average over £215.

Jacqui Warren, Sustainability Officer, said: “The Big Community Switch is a great way for people who might be considering changing their energy suppliers to see if they can reduce their energy bill, with residents saving on average £215 during the previous switch.”

How the switch works:

1. The switch is open for registrations from 5 January to 1 February 2016. Anyone who pays a household energy bill can register for free, including pre payment meter customers and those without gas. Registration is easy – you just need a recent fuel bill or annual statement.

2. The council’s switching partner iChoosr will hold an ‘auction day’ on 2 February and invite energy companies to offer their best prices.

3. The cheapest tariff wins! Residents will receive an email with details of the new tariff secured by the scheme and how much money could be potentially saved. This will be after 12 February 2016.

4. Residents will have until 14 March 2016 to decide to accept the offer or not. There is no obligation to accept and no fees or charges. If residents choose not to take up the offer, they can still register again in future schemes.

For more information and help on joining the Big community Energy Switch visit https://www.york.gov.uk/switchingenergy or watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx_fph_9NeE

For help making your home warmer through energy efficiency measures visit https://www.york.gov.uk/info/20097/private_landlords_and_tenants/1507/better_homes_york

Better Homes opens door to 44 per cent higher energy efficiency and 31 per cent lower bills

Energy improvements that have improved a York home’s energy efficiency rating by 44 per cent and cut heating and hot water costs by 31 per cent, will be on show on 18 August.

Better Homes York, in partnership with City of York Council, will hold an open day at the programme’s demonstration home between 10:00 and 13:00hrs.

The property at Carnot Street, York is a mid-terrace house which, before a programme of Government-funded improvements, lacked adequate insulation or heating. Its previous tenants had complained that it was cold, damp and expensive to heat.

The show home was selected following a call to all of the city’s private landlords registered on the council’s YorHome scheme. The council allocated funding from Better Homes York and installed internal wall insulation and fitted a new gas central heating system. Because of its solid wall construction, the house’s insulation is fitted to the inside of the wall and so doesn’t affect the house’s external appearance. The house also had rising damp which made its heating inefficient and expensive. Following damp treatment, a type of insulation for the rooms downstairs was chosen which allows the walls to breathe and dry naturally.

The work has increased the house’s energy efficiency rating by 44 per cent and decreased the expected heating and hot water costs by 31 per cent.
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Solar panels for free – Acomb Explore Library tomorrow (Tuesday)

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Sign up to the Big Community Energy Switch

City of York Council is reminding residents to sign up to the Big Community Energy Switch by 2 February.

People will be joining together with over 170 other residents from York and 12,000 people from around the UK in the switch, that could help them save on average £169 on their gas and electricity bills.

The council and iChoosr held their first scheme between December 2013 and February 2014. A total of 751 York residents signed up, along with 36,000 people across the UK. Average annual savings for those York residents who switched was £169!

Supported by York’s Citizens Advice Bureau and Age UK York – the Save Money by Switching Energy campaign launched in December 2013. The scheme enables York residents to register for the assisted scheme through these four easy steps that can result in them being offered potentially cheaper alternative tariffs to consider switching to.

1) Anyone who pays a household energy bill can register for free. Registration is easy – you just need a recent fuel bill or annual statement.

2) Registration closes on 2 February 2015. The council’s switching partner iChoosr then gathers everyone’s registrations together and invites all the energy companies to offer their best prices. This is all done by iChoosr. You don’t need to do anything.

3) The cheapest tariffs win! Residents will receive an with details on the new tariff secured by the scheme from 16 February. It will tell you how much money you could potentially save if you accept.

4) Residents have until 16 March to decide to accept the offer or not. There is no obligation to accept and there are no fees or charges. You simply get a new offer that could potentially save you money on your energy bills. If you choose not to take up the offer, you can always register again in future schemes.

If residents are unable to sign up to this round of the Big Community Energy Switch they can join the next round, which runs from 24 March until 18 May.

To find out more or to register go to www.york.gov.uk/switchingenergy. If residents do not have access online please visit City of York Council’s customer service centre at West Offices or call us on 01904 551550.

Communities urged to sign up to Big Energy Race!

City of York Council is urging residents and community groups to sign up to the Big Energy Race which could see them win £20,000 towards a community project of their choice.

The Big Energy Race sees groups and individuals promote energy saving in their local community, which can help to make a real difference to peoples energy bills.Alongside the grand prize of £20,000 towards a community project there are also individual, team and regional prizes to be won. This provides plenty of opportunities for everyone involved to have their moment to shine.

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Big Community Energy Switch sign up

City of York Council is once again inviting residents to sign up to the Big Community Energy Switch, which could help them save on average £169 on their gas and electricity bills.

The sessions will take place in various locations throughout the city during December and January. Residents who would like to find out more about switching are asked to bring a fuel bill along with them.

Drop-in sessions where people can register with the help of council staff are taking place on:

Friday 12 December 2014

Tang Hall Community Centre, Fifth Avenue

1.30pm – 4.30pm

Monday 15 January 2014

The Gateway Centre, Acomb

10am – 2pm

Every Monday in January 2015

City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise

10am – 1pm

Monday 23 January 2015