Energy Efficiency

Energy Efficiency

The Scottish government has set ambitious targets for energy efficiency in Scottish homes, by introducing the Energy Efficiency Standard in Social Housing, or (EESSH).

EESSH aims to improve the energy efficiency of social housing in Scotland. It will help to reduce energy consumption, fuel poverty, and the emission of greenhouse gases.

Compliance against the standard is measured, by carrying out an Energy Performance Certificate, (EPC) for each property, to assess its performance against the targets set by the government. The aim is to make each home as efficient as possible, and to achieve a minimum rating of band C or above by the target date of December 2020.

To achieve this we carried out a range investment programmes for all of our properties to ensure that the standards were met, or in some cases surpassed. Works included:

  • Efficient central heating systems
  • Thermally efficient double glazed windows
  • Extra insulation to lofts, and in some cases cavity walls
  • Installing Eco range electric showers to save both heating and water consumption
  • Providing energy efficient lighting

Following the passing of this first milestone, the Scottish Government has signalled its intention to raise the bar, and introduce a new Higher Standard, EESSH2, which will require all homes to achieve an energy efficiency rating above band B by December 2032.

Like many similar Social Housing providers with a similar stock profile to ours, the association will find this extremely challenging, as most of the currently available energy efficiency measures, have already been applied to our stock to achieve our current bandings.

We are committed however to apply improvements wherever we can, and to explore new technologies and materials, in order to achieve the best outcome for our customers, providing warm, comfortable, energy efficient homes in the years to come.