Southern Housing: Church Elm Lane
Church Elm Lane, located in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, is a scheme operated by Southern Housing, one of the largest housing providers in the UK. The project was awarded part funding in Round 1 of the main scheme to implement improvements after an optimisation study found opportunities for efficiency enhancements.
The scheme, located on the outskirts of London and served well by local railway stations, is just a stone’s throw away from local parks and nature reserves. Southern Housing has more than 78,000 homes across London, the South East, the Isle of Wight and the Midlands, giving over 167,000 people somewhere affordable to call their own.
They wanted to ensure their residents at Church Elm Lane were able to heat their homes more efficiently and affordably. To achieve this, the optimisation study identified opportunities for significant improvements that could be made to the heat network serving the scheme, reducing energy usage and bills for residents.
Heat network efficiency improvement works and outcomes
Through the improvements made possible by funding, in part provided by HNES as well as internal funding, enormous value and benefits have been delivered to heat network customers. Capital funding provided in Round 1 unlocked the ability for the housing provider to:
- Recommission the Building Management System (BMS) and pumps to optimise the heating provision
- Reconfigure each resident’s thermostats
- Install new HIUs to provide improved and optimised communication across the heat network
- Install new and updated pipework providing better efficiency
- Install additional insulation to prevent heat leakages, increase the heat network’s efficiency levels, and reduce costs for Church Elm Lane’s residents.
Lessons learned
Southern Housing recognised the importance of running an optimisation study ahead of considering improvements to the heat network.
By identifying areas for efficiencies and key considerations early on in the project, Southern Housing were able to utilise their Round 1 capital funding effectively, targeting hotspots and providing maximum value for residents at reduced costs.
Conclusion
The Church Elm Lane project demonstrates both the effectiveness of investing in future-proof, high quality infrastructure to provide efficient heating to residents connected to a heat network, and the need for a data-driven, bottom- up approach to delivering improvements.
Southern Housing were able to unlock energy bill savings for their residents through strong forward planning, early identification of opportunities, and targeted interventions through foundational optimisation studies.
Greg Falder, Energy & Heat Networks Manager, said: “We’re thrilled to have successfully delivered the capital works project at Church Elm on behalf of our residents, who are already feeling the benefits of lower bills and more comfortable homes. The HNES fund made the project possible by providing funding, a clear route to delivery and a template for future projects across other heat networks.
“Our project delivery team and Invicta Building Services completed all upgrades ahead of schedule and within budget, whilst maintaining particular focus on engaging residents and minimising disruption.”
Stephen English, Project Manager, said: “Residents had been experiencing a number of failures with the original Potterton HIUs such as a loss of heating, hot water or both and were very pleased to see the programme commence in October 2023 in time for winter. By the start of 2024, the majority of properties had their new units installed and were feeling the benefit.
“The relocation of the thermostat and new thermostatic radiator valves within flats, along with the changes required to the building management system and the installation of new sensors completed the work. It’s hoped the system should reach the efficiency levels expected.”
Image credit: Gemserv
