Warm Homes Fund: A Significant Opportunity for Retrofit in the Housing Sector

The official announcement on the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) Wave 3 was made by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the 11^th of March. The substantial allocation of £1.29 billion of grant funding represents a significant opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of social housing across England. With a matched funding expectation of at least 50% coming from housing providers, which means an investment in social housing of around £2.58 billion. This funding will go a long way to retrofit a large number of homes, bringing them up to modern energy performance standards, helping to ease fuel poverty and improve comfort and health for social housing residents.

Scope of Upgrades

Wave 3 of the WH:SHF is set to impact a considerable portion of the social housing stock. The fund will support approximately 144 projects, which include both Strategic Partnership projects and Challenge Fund projects. These projects will collectively target around 170,000 homes that currently fall below the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C, to install energy efficiency and renewable energy measures such as cavity and solid wall insulation, loft and floor insulation, energy efficient windows and doors, solar PV and batteries, and air and ground source heat pumps.

Benefits to Residents

The benefits of these upgrades to the residents of social housing are manifold. Firstly, improved energy efficiency directly translates to lower energy bills. For many residents, particularly those on lower incomes, this can make a substantial difference in their monthly expenses. By reducing the amount of energy required to heat and power their homes, residents can enjoy a more comfortable living environment without the financial strain of high energy costs.

Secondly, the upgrades will contribute to better health outcomes. Poorly insulated homes can lead to damp and cold conditions, which are associated with a range of health issues, including respiratory problems and cardiovascular diseases. By ensuring homes are well-insulated and energy-efficient, the WH:SHF can help mitigate these health risks, leading to improved overall well-being for residents.

Additionally, by reducing the carbon footprint of social housing, the WH:SHF supports the broader goals of the UK's climate change commitments. This initiative aligns with the country's efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, making it a critical component of the national strategy to combat climate change.

Get prepared

Whilst bidding for funding is never an easy task for housing providers, now that the funding has been secured, the hard work of mobilising the projects begins. During the application phase, conversations would have begun with supply chain partners and procurement frameworks to understand procurement options and delivery routes for the projects.

The lists of homes and upgrade measures will now be refined. Resident engagement strategies should be initiated, including early conversations with residents likely to be affected by the works. Retrofit assessments need to be conducted on the proposed homes to determine the suitability of upgrade measures and careful retrofit designs undertaken, adhering to PAS2035.

Budgets for the co-funding elements will have been committed and senior stakeholder buy-in achieved. Internal teams will need to be formed within housing providers to manage the projects and the funding requirements.

In short, we there will now be flurry of activity within housing providers to ensure the projects get off to a good start and the secured funding is spent effectively, giving the desired outcomes of warmer, healthier homes, improved communities, new jobs, and improved economic conditions for residents.

Warm Homes Local Grant

Also announced alongside the WH:SHF was the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG). This will allocate £500 million to 73 projects across 270 local authorities, to upgrade privately owned homes (either owner occupied or in the private rented sector) which are energy inefficient and where households are low-income.

The joint announcement of the two funds provides significant opportunities for Local Authorities to blend funding to create comprehensive area-based retrofit programmes for their regions. The combining of resources for coordinated planning and implementation could lead to significant economies of scale, maximising the impact of energy efficiency and low carbon heating upgrades across different housing tenures. 

Conclusion

With £1.79 billion of grant funding to be spent over a three-year programme and associated match funding, housing providers are faced with the best opportunity yet to improve the energy performance of their housing stock.

Sureserve have delivered thousands of retrofit measures under previous grant funding rounds and are well positioned to assist with retrofit projects under the Warm Homes schemes. We install all insulation, ventilation, renewable energy and clean heat measures, to PAS2030 compliance. 

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"If you'd like to explore how Sureserve can support your energy efficiency projects with expert advice and guidance, please get in touch.