20 October 2003
Tenants living in some of Aberdeen City Council’s housing could soon be paying less to heat their homes as the Council seeks to comply with the Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) and its commitment to Local Agenda 21 - part of a global action plan to tackle environmental issues, drawn up at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Keen to improve the energy efficiency of its housing stock and to provide more affordable warmth for its tenants, the Council commissioned a study to review current energy performance in more than 8,000 of its more expensive to heat properties. These ranged from multi storey dwellings to low rise sheltered housing and amenity cottages, representing 30 per cent of the housing stock in its ownership.
The properties studied were felt to be those that presented a number of challenges over the longer term in view of their design or age.
The findings of the study, undertaken by the Glasgow office of project management and engineering design consultants, WYG, recommended that a system of generating energy called ‘combined heat and power’ (CHP) would provide much lower running costs for tenants and reduce current carbon dioxide levels substantially.
The study, which took almost two years to conduct, involved undertaking an initial condition survey of the properties and carrying out an energy audit using specially designed software that could provide the data required to analyse the cost of the various heating options available.
Managing the project, WYG's regional director David McEwan, explains:
“The initial condition survey took into account the likely repair and maintenance costs for the properties over the next 30 years, based on Council records.
“Three basic alternatives were considered which involved renewing the electric heating systems, upgrading or replacing gas fired central heating or upgrading to a CHP system. We also reviewed alternative energy sources, availability of grant funding and the economies of scale that might be realised by grouping the properties into 35 clusters.
“CHP gave the best value of the options considered for each cluster of buildings, providing as much as a 50 per cent improvement in running costs for some clusters. It may cost more to install, but CHP systems will be cheaper to run over the long term, provide lower carbon emissions and provide cheaper heating for tenants, so everyone wins.”
To implement the improvements, small plant rooms containing the CHP unit will be built for each housing cluster. These will provide energy for heating as well as hot water. Any surplus power can be exported through the grid to heat other municipal buildings, so none is wasted.
The Council is already piloting a similar CHP programme at a group of high rise properties in the Stockethil area of Aberdeen. The concept is well suited to local authority housing stock where there is a consistent demand for heating and electricity. It also has a lower environmental impact with energy costs on average 10 per cent lower than gas fired heating.
The decision to undertake the study was underpinned by the Council’s compliance with HECA as part of its aberdeenfutures and community planning programmes. These include a package of environmental, social and economic measures geared to modernising Council services and making Aberdeen a place where people want to live, work and visit.
Craig Stirrat, project manager at Aberdeen City Council’s Housing Department Community Services commissioned the study. He said: “As part of our recent wider Housing Options Feasibility Study we wanted to find the best way to provide tenants with affordable rented homes – not just in terms of the cost of renting but with regard to running costs and comfort levels. There is a big difference between the cost of heating some of our properties that can translate into a large percentage of disposable income for some families. This is clearly unfair, but it has come about largely due to the design of some properties and the age of some of the heating systems installed over the years.
“Energy efficiency improvements and making warmth more affordable for tenants are both Council priorities. We had set ourselves a target to meet HECA requirements of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption by 30 per cent throughout all the Council’s housing stock by the year 2007, so we were delighted with WYG's recommendations which provide the ideal solution for high rise blocks.”
The improvements will be phased in over the next few years as part of the Council’s ongoing planned maintenance and repair programme.