Dyson Energy Services with client South Lakes Housing, alongside energy services provider Everwarm, are celebrating the successful completion of the delivery of Year One of a £7.2m two-year eco-friendly home improvement initiative. This initiative was funded by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.1.

The project is part of a national initiative designed to reduce the carbon footprint of social housing homes by installing measures into existing homes (‘retrofitting’) to improve energy efficiency and follows the government’s target of achieving an EPC C rating for all homes by 2030.

South Lakes Housing was awarded £3.6m of funding from the Government’s SHDF to enhance a total of 905 existing properties over a two-year period as part of its Warmer Greener Homes campaign. A further £3.6m is being funded by South Lakes Housing and will form part of a total investment in energy efficiency in their existing homes over two years of around £8million.

One year into delivery, 367 properties from the initial Year One target of 362 homes, have received energy-efficient home improvements. Residents are now benefiting from savings on energy bills as well as enjoying warmer and better ventilated homes, which are crucial for health and wellbeing.

Richard Hayes, Director of Homes at South Lakes Housing, said: “We are delighted to have successfully achieved and exceeded our delivery target in the first year of such an important project working closely with Dyson Energy Services and Everwarm. Increasing the energy efficiency performance of our homes, five years ahead of legislation, is a key achievement in our goal as a sustainable social landlord providing warmer and more affordable homes for our customers to live in.”

The first year of delivery has predominantly focused on homes in Kendal, Milnthorpe, and Sedbergh.

As Principal Delivery Partner, Dyson Energy Services has been installing a range of energy-saving measures in South Lakes Housing properties across the local region, including Solar PV and battery storage, cavity wall and loft insulation upgrades and energy efficiency lighting. All retrofit work is compliant with PAS 2035 standards, with Everwarm completing all retrofit assessments, design, and coordination.

In Year One, over 535 energy saving measures have been installed into 367 households, including:

• 347 homes with solar PV systems
• 181 cavity wall insulation upgrades
• 4 loft space insulation upgrades
• Plus, an additional 345 ventilation measures have been installed to improve air quality in residents’ homes.

Click here to download a leaflet illustrating the impact in numbers.

A South Lakes Housing resident in Sedbergh who recently benefitted from the installation of Solar PV panels shared that,

“I only need to top up my payment card once a week now, instead of twice.”

Another resident commented,

“The new cavity wall insulation has made a big impact with keeping my home warmer.”

Michael Morrall, Director of Operations at Dyson Energy Services said, “Reaching this milestone and exceeding the target just one year into our retrofit programme is a tremendous achievement. The collaborative partnership with South Lakes Housing and immense efforts and time taken to develop effective data insight, has been instrumental in the streamlining of delivery of this Social Housing Decarbonisation funded project. The team are delighted that more than 367 South Lakes households are now feeling the benefits of energy efficiency upgrades. We look forward to continuing the excellent work and helping many more residents in year two of the programme to March 2025 on our joined-up mission to deliver to 905 homes in total.”

The remaining 500+ existing South Lakes Housing properties are on track to be fitted out over the next 12 months, with most properties expected to receive the benefits of the home improvement scheme well before the colder winter weather takes hold later in the year.