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Case Study: SHARE - Social Housing Action to Reduce Energy Consumption

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Summary

The SHARE project is a partnership between sustainable energy organisations working with social housing providers and residents in eight European regions; in the UK, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia and Sweden. Within an overall context of reducing carbon emissions and reducing the risk of fuel poverty, the project focuses on existing housing and aims to increase awareness of the opportunities and practical options for sustainable energy retrofit and behavioural change.

Local social housing energy forums have been established in each area as a framework for engaging stakeholders in directing a programme of training, advice and awareness specific to local needs. Forums include social housing providers, residents, local authorities, fuel utilities and a variety of specialist working within the sector.

The project ran from January 2006 to June 2008 and has been funded by the European Commission through the Intelligent Energy - Europe programme.

Results

The project has highlighted a number of interesting similarities and differences, and has benefited from the exchange of information both at local and regional level (through the forums) and between the European partners. We have also engaged positively with the energy experts group within CEODHAS (European Liaison Committee for Social Housing) which was formed recently.

Some of the common issues that arose and examples of relevant initiatives developed under the SHARE project are given below.

Condensation and links to energy efficiency, ventilation and health.

In homes which are poorly insulated, and where heating is not affordable for the occupants, condensation is more likely to become a problem and cause damp, with associated health risks. As an issue involving both building details and user behaviour, the best solutions are often collaborative ones. All too often this is an area of misunderstanding between landlords and tenants, where both become frustrated by what can appear as intransigence from the other, with regard to making thermal improvements or ventilating adequately.

Collaborative training /advice sessions involving both can help to move things forward and explode myths, as in the German and UK SHARE programmes. Advice on this issue is often best given through home visits, carried out in the Bulgarian, French (€energy ambassadors€) and UK SHARE programmes.
Energy suppliers, metering and bills

The lack of accessibility and comprehensibility of meters and bills is a common problem.

In France an interpretative €mask€ was developed for the project, to place over the EDF bill to indicate the main information.

In Sweden the forums discussed the use of €heat meters€ for both heat and hot water in blocks of flats with communal heating systems. This will allow for energy bills to be apportioned more accurately to individual tenants and encourage energy efficiency.
Split incentives between landlord and tenant. This can be expressed in a sense of helplessness on the part of tenants when faced with problems because of inefficient or poorly controlled heating and/or thermally inefficient buildings.
Division of responsibilities in multi-household buildings and the barriers and opportunities this can throw up in relation to energy.

In former Soviet countries such as Bulgaria, Estonia and Slovenia, the majority of housing is relatively low-income owner-occupied, including many apartment blocks built in Soviet times, and in need of refurbishment. There can be problems around clarity of rights and responsibilities and a need for structures to take collective action such as to insulate or replace heating.

An interesting example from Sofia is a 1947 block of 10 homes where an owners' association has been formed to renovate the building, including insulation and heating improvements. Converting the attics to form two new homes brings in new rental income which helps to pay off the loans for the works.
Understanding of use of heating and hot water controls

Several of the forums included this in their training for staff and residents, as well as offering home visits. A particular issue was to identify those residents that did not turn up to meetings or appeared isolated through culture or language. In Remscheid a demonstration flat was established for training purposes, with examples of controls and energy saving methods, materials translated into Russian and Turkish and direct contact made with relevant community groups to make sure that minority communities were reached.
Rising fuel prices

The rising trend in fuel prices has brought new problems to lower income households in many countries, and the phenomenon of €energy poverty€ is becoming more widely recognised.

One example from Estonia was the problems faced by rural villagers, when local oil shale (used in the district heating system) prices doubled in 2005. A high proportion of the local inhabitants are retired people on lower than average incomes. With the advice of the energy agency they made a decision to make a collective bulk purchase of wood logs sufficient for a year's consumption, as an alternative to the oil shale fuel used in the district heating system. The logs were 3 meters long so had to be cut to size, so residents needed to do this for their own share of the logs and to store them.

An example from Tipperary is an analysis by the County Council, using the new Building Energy Rating software, of the impact of replacing the solid fuel ranges and open fires with high efficiency oil boilers, solar water heating and a closed solid fuel room heater in the living rooms. A 70% reduction in energy consumption is achievable, with significant benefits for residents in terms of bills and comfort.
Financing energy efficiency retrofit measures

The Energy Efficiency Commitment programme in the UK is a useful example of significant finance for measures form fuel utilities, with potential for replication and adaptation in other countries as opening of the fuel markets progresses. In the Gloucestershire SHARE programme, EEC suppliers attended the forum and insulated lofts and cavities in social housing in the county, as well as providing power downs plugs, eco-kettles and low energy light bulbs.

Stroud tenants involved in the energy forum in Gloucestershire were provided with 35,000 low energy bulbs by Powergen, and managed to distribute the first 5,200 in a fortnight, including one to every home owned by the Council.

In Haute Savoie, the €energy ambassadors€ are able to give out small items such as low energy bulbs, draught-seals and timers.

In Tipperary, the energy agency worked with the County Council to assess the feasibility of an energy upgrade to reduce energy consumption by 50%, including cavity wall insulation, double glazing, insulating hot water cylinders and heating controls. 50% of the costs were obtained under the government funded House of Tomorrow programme run by Sustainable Energy Ireland.

Lessons learned and repeatability

All partners have worked to spread the success of the project in their own countries, via presentations at conferences, press releases, radio and TV interviews. The project coordinator has also been speaking at international conferences to publicise the achievements. Through this publicity and connecting with other areas that would benefit from these activities, each country is endeavouring to find another area in which to replicate the SHARE project, or elements of its activity. Several countries have already achieved this and the others are positive they will be able to secure replication before the end of the project.

Some of the aspects which have been particularly attractive to replicate have been the awareness materials, posters, training packages, merchandise and the concept of the forum. Some areas will be replicating a suite of these components, whilst others will be choosing one to focus on.

One of the most interesting lessons learnt from this project is the variety of approaches needed in different countries to achieve the goals. In some areas, for example, the advice was more effectively delivered via telephone, whereas in others a face to face meeting was more beneficial. By sharing these different approaches between partners new ideas and understanding have been developed.

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