Report IDs 'easy wins' for cutting footprints of '60s flats

A new report highlights the most cost-effective areas to target in an effort to lower the carbon footprints of 1960s flats across the UK.

The report, prepared by the Energy Saving Trust with support by Mears Group and Travis Perkins, investigates the real-life costs of achieving a 60-per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 1960s flats. It is aimed at all those involved in both the social and private rented housing sectors who wish to improve the environmental performance of their dwellings.

The costs of reaching a 60-per cent reduction varied widely between the scenarios, and a key finding is that, the better the dwelling baseline performance, the more difficult and costly it is to achieve the 60-per cent reduction. For housing associations and landlords, this factor is crucial, and the report highlights the most cost-effective areas to target in order to maximise the “easy wins.”

Whilst the Code for Sustainable Homes is driving the new build sector forward towards zero-carbon construction by 2016, the existing housing stock has an even bigger role to play in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Current predictions estimate that, in 2050, the existing (pre-2006) housing stock will still make up two-thirds of the UK’s housing. This stock is typically poorly performing when measured by today’s heightened energy efficiency standards, and hence it is essential that measures are taken to reduce its associated carbon emissions.

The Energy Saving Trust commissioned the new report to investigate cost-effective measures that can help to reduce the carbon emissions from the existing housing stock. The document gives low-, medium- and high-cost dwelling carbon reduction packages, for a wide variety of scenarios.

Such measures can also have a significant effect in reducing the likelihood of dwelling occupants suffering from fuel poverty, and can reduce fuel bills by over 50 per cent.

Across the UK, there are almost 25 million dwellings, of which flats make up almost 5 million — approximately 20 per cent of the total UK housing stock. Therefore, were all such dwellings UK-wide to adopt the energy-efficiency measures recommended in this report, the savings would be highly significant in driving the UK’s housing stock emissions down towards the target 60-per cent reduction.