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BACKGROUND

Around a quarter of the city of Manchester’s emissions come from housing. Manchester has a target of being a zero carbon city by 2038 and has a housing strategy of retrofitting 33% of all social housing in the city to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) B by 2032.

Homes as Energy Systems (HAES) is an ERDF-funded project, delivering an estimated 1,000 retrofit interventions in the Greater Manchester region. The project aims to increase the energy efficiency in the housing sector and decrease the annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2,750 tonnes.

Manchester City Council is retrofitting 540 properties through the scheme, with measures including ground and air source heat pumps (ASHPs) to replace inefficient communal and individual gas boilers, photovoltaic systems, batteries and smart heating controls.

ACTION

Manchester City Council replaced an inefficient communal gas boiler system with a shared loop ground source heat pump (GSHP) system at Liverton Court, a housing complex in Blackley. The installation includes a shared ground array, with 7 miles of pipework, and individual GSHP units to each flat in the block. The project is part of the council’s wider ambitions to retrofit its 16,000 properties to achieve zero carbon for its housing stock by 2038.

Homes where heating is at a set temperature consume, on average, 1.2 kWh less electricity per day, equivalent to circa 0.25 kg less CO2. In addition, properties maintain a 1.5°c higher temperature than those where residents select inconstant and intermittent heating preferences. Only 35 households out of the 70 flats were using their heating consistently before the GSHPs were installed in the tower block.

IMPACT

After the installation it was found that the heating was switched on more consistently, resulting in warmer, more comfortable homes for the residents.

The 35 residents who had previously used their heating experienced a small increase in their energy bills on average, some of this was due to the increased reliability of the system. Energy advice was provided to all those whose bills had increased (approximately half of the residents), to allow better control of temperatures and changing of settings, for example while away from home. The provision of tailored energy advice was seen as key to lowering tenant bills and maximising the carbon benefits of the GSHP system.

Benefits from the project included emissions savings of 63 tCO2e per year and cost savings of £10,000 for the council. The modest initial increase in tenant energy bills was addressed through advice and guidance and residents benefited from warmer, more comfortable homes. There was also a high level of resident satisfaction during works and an improved reliability of the systems, which resulted in less disruption to residents as there were fewer repairs required. This project demonstrates the value of collaboration across housing providers, residents, academia, installers, technology suppliers and others.

LESSONS LEARNT

Access to properties can be difficult, this was addressed through a robust engagement plan including regular communication with residents.

Consider planning challenges, in particular relating to the installation of multiple ASHPs in apartment blocks and the aesthetics of this.

Understand the challenges for residents when they move from service charges to individual electricity bills. Residents moving away from paying for their heating through a service charge as part of their weekly rent, to individual electricity bills, was something some residents had never set up and paid themselves before.

Education for residents at handover is important. Ensure provision of energy advice on an ongoing basis beyond the project.

Ensure you gain approval from the distribution network operator due to increased loads.

Understand the availability of skilled contractors for installation and lack of skills for repairs and maintenance.

Monitor the homes in real time. Real-time monitoring of the homes as part of the project has allowed valuable lessons to be learnt with regards to the optimal use of the low carbon technologies. It has also improved the speed at which repairs and maintenance issues can be identified and resolved.