If an energy efficiency programme similar to the one proposed in a report for Consumer Focus by Cambridge Econometrics and Verco were implemented in Cumbria – assuming the jobs are spread proportionately across the UK – this could mean almost 600 new jobs in Cumbria by 2015 and over 1,000 by 2027.(1)
‘Staple’ energy efficiency measures
The simpler or ‘staple’ energy efficiency measures include loft and cavity wall insulation, and the installation of new boilers and central heating controls. Installing these simple measures can make a big difference to the thermal efficiency of a house. Yet according to UK Government statistics, in January 2012 only 60% of households with lofts had insulation of at least 125mm and only 59% of homes with a cavity wall had insulation.(2)
The Cumbria housing condition survey published in September 2012 estimates the cost of completing the installation of the simpler measures in all suitable properties in Cumbria would be £84.5m.(3)
Local Authorities in Cumbria need to build on the progress already made with the Cumbria Warm Homes Project by completing the so-called staple energy efficiency measures – loft and cavity wall insulation, installation of new boilers and central heating controls –as soon as possible.
Parish Councils and community groups should work together with Cumbrian local authorities to ensure that Cumbria is getting all the grants it is entitled to complete basic insulation measures. Every extra loft insulated or cavity wall insulated means more money stays in the area to boost the local economy, rather than going outside of Cumbria to one of the Big 6 utilities. Resistance to accepting free insulation offers in the past was quite possibly due to a suspicion of large companies. Locally organised projects are ideally placed to build up more trust locally and overcome this resistance.
Solid Wall Insulation
Uninsulated solid brick walls are the poorest performing wall type in the English housing stock. For an individual typical solid wall mid terrace house, solid wall insulation is the single most significant building fabric improvement. When used with roof insulation, reduction in heat losses of over a third can be made.(4) Insulation can be added externally or internally to walls, whichever is most appropriate.
This type of insulation is still unfamiliar to most people. The best way to understand how it’s done is to watch a video. Stroud’s Eco-Renovation Open Homes weekend organised by Transition Stroud showcases internal wall insulation in a video here.
Bristol Green Doors video report on its external wall insulation project is here.
The housing condition survey for Cumbria doesn’t attempt to quantify the cost of solid wall insulation in pre-1919 terraced houses, but it says that of the 238,700 domestic residential dwellings in Cumbria, 34% or 81,158 are terraced houses. Solid wall insulation can be quite expensive – the Energy Saving Trust gives a figure of £4,000 to £16,000 for internal wall insulation and £9,000 to £26,000 for external wall insulation.(5)
In England as a whole 3.5m houses will require solid wall insulation during the 2020s.(6) The Committee on Climate Change in their 2009 Report, ‘Meeting Carbon Budgets – the need for a step change’ recommended that 2.3million solid wall homes will need solid wall insulation by 2022 in order for the UK to be on track to achieve carbon budgets. (7) If a similar proportion of Cumbrian homes are treated this means around 21,000 houses should receive some form of solid wall insulation by 2022 – that means around 2,333 houses per year.
Some external wall insulation projects have already been carried out in Cumbria, funded by the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).
Unfortunately recent cuts to the ECO scheme are likely to dramatically reduce the funding available for solid wall insulation.(8) Cumbria County Council should work together with the Borough Councils to attract funding to implement a co-ordinated programme which would make it easier and cheaper to install external wall insulation along whole streets of Victorian terraced houses at the same time.
Cumbria Community Groups concerned about fuel poverty should establish a fuel poverty forum which would investigate the feasibility of establishing a community co-operative to carry out insulation work and establish a solid wall insulation installation service.
- Jobs, Growth and Warmer Homes: Evaluating the Economic Stimulus of Investing in Energy Efficiency Measures in Fuel Poor Homes, A report by Cambridge Econometrics and Verco for Consumer Focus, October 2012
- Estimates of Home Insulation Levels in Great Britain, DECC January 2012
- Report Prepared for The Councils of Cumbria: Private Sector Housing Stock Condition Surveys, Opinion Research Surveys, September 2012
- Jobs, Growth and Warmer Homes: Evaluating the Economic Stimulus of Investing in Energy Efficiency Measures in Fuel Poor Homes, A report by Cambridge Econometrics and Verco for Consumer Focus, October 2012
- Energy Saving Trust website accessed 20th May 2014
- Strube, J et al, Solid wall insulation: its place in retrofit plans, Centre for Sustainability of the Built Environment, University of Brighton, 2011.
- Meeting Carbon Budgets – The need for a step change: Progress Report to Parliament, Committee on Climate Change, October 2009.
- Carbon Brief 6th March 2014