Energy

 

Biomass heating cuts bills and CO2 emissions

 

 

A biomass heating and hot water system installed at an NCHA care home in Hucknall last autumn has cut energy costs and reduced carbon emissions.

 

The work of NCHA’s energy and environmental services team, the scheme was part-funded by a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Clear Skies Grant. It is among the first to be installed in an urban social housing scheme.

 

It replaces electric storage heaters and two-bar electric fires, which were costing £600 a month to run. Residents found the storage-heater controls difficult to operate, and as a result their homes were cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.

 

Gas was not an option, as the scheme has no mains gas supply and a connection would have cost £30,000. The biomass system runs on wood pellets that are sourced locally in Nottinghamshire, and its use at Hucknall is supporting the local economy and helping to sustain local woodlands.

 

The Hucknall scheme is NCHA’s latest renewable energy initiative.  Elsewhere, NCHA has completed two schemes fitted with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, one of them in a scheme of 44 new bungalows in Nottingham as part of a DTI pilot and the other in the conversion of a railway warehouse in Loughborough. NCHA has also built a low-energy scheme in Newark with glazed streets, high insulation levels and highly efficient gas boilers to produce warm homes, low bills and low carbon emissions.

 

Regional seminar

NCHA organised a regional seminar for housing organisations in the East Midlands during the year where it shared its experience of PV technology. Subjects covered included raising funding for PV schemes and promoting the positive aspects of the technology.

 

Staff travel plan

 

A staff travel plan is being phased in over the year to encourage staff members to reduce the number of work journeys by car . The plan is designed to reduce the Association’s carbon footprint and help reduce local traffic congestion. It also offers health benefits to staff who walk or cycle from their homes to the office.

The first initiative, secure cycle parking, has been introduced at the two main offices in Nottingham.

 

Further reading
For more information about the NCHA Energy department’s work, please read the press release below:

 

20 December 2006 - ’Roof top’ power seminar