Renewable energy and battery specialists AceOn provided the equipment for the Wrekin Housing Group retrofit scheme, which has been shortlisted for the Climate Change Retrofit Project of the Year at the Inside Housing Development Awards. The Awards recognise the teams, schemes and solutions that have positively impacted communities over the past 12 months.
Telford-based AceOn and electrical distributors BEW worked on the scheme with Wrekin Housing Group to fit solar panels, inverters and 7kWh storage batteries in 68 existing social housing properties and 11 new builds. AceOn’s battery storage equipment is compact enough to be fitted into a cupboard under the stairs, making it ideal for retrofit applications.
Altogether the Telford retrofit project is expected to reduce energy consumption from the grid by 1.6m kWh and reduce carbon emissions by 720 tonnes over the next 10 years. The installations have also had a measurable impact on tenants, with some saying that their monthly bills have been cut by as much as 75 per cent.
The scheme is up against seven other projects from around the UK
AceOn managing director Mark Thomson said: “It’s great to be nominated for this award and recognised nationally, but what’s more important to AceOn is the positive partnership we have established with Wrekin Housing Group and other social housing providers and, even more importantly, the way that our technology is being used to reduce a household’s energy bill and carbon footprint.
“At a time when rising bills are pushing many social and affordable housing tenants into fuel poverty, schemes like the one we collaborated on with the Wrekin Housing Group are making a monumental difference to people’s lives. Renewable energy should be in every home, but no more so than in social housing, where low-income families benefit from the reduction in their monthly outgoings.
“The scheme also helps to achieve wider sustainability goals. As we move forward with the electrification of our infrastructure, from how we heat our homes to the cars we drive, residential battery storage will have a prominent role to play in grid stabilisation and smoothing out peaks and troughs in demand.
“Ultimately, the project is a win for social housing tenants, a win for the environment and a win for the UK’s energy transition away from fossil fuels.”
AceOn will join Wrekin Housing Group at the Inside Housing Development awards ceremony in London on 30 September 2022 to find out if the project is a winner.
Combat the critical issues of fuel poverty
Mark added: “Whether our project’s name is inside the gold envelope or not, it’s been a fantastic project to be involved in, and it has created a blueprint for other social housing providers to follow to combat the critical issues of fuel poverty and climate change.”
David Wells, executive director of operational services for The Wrekin Housing Group, said: “This project is an excellent example of partnership working to identify and address the challenges of climate changes and rising energy costs for our tenants. I’m delighted that our innovative approach has been recognised with this nomination.
“We would also like to thank our tenants who have allowed us into their homes to install and monitor some of the latest energy-saving techniques. The project has made a huge difference to their lives – some of our tenants are saving up to 75 per cent on their monthly energy bills.
“We are monitoring the performance of the green technologies installed to inform future schemes and help identify other homes that could benefit from retrofitting.”