14,000 West Midlands homes are being upgraded to make them more energy efficient and cheaper to run
People across the West Midlands have hailed works to improve their homes which have helped them slash energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.
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Residents and tenants said their expectations have been exceeded after having a raft of measures carried out to make properties more energy-efficient.
They were speaking at Retrofit Action Week, hosted by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which has been taking place this week.
The annual online event is dedicated to accelerating the shift to energy -efficient homes with insulation, measures to improve air tightness, ventilation systems and renewables like solar panels and simultaneously to reducing fuel poverty.
Under the £167 million devolved energy efficiency funding announced by the Mayor in January – part of a multi-year funding arrangement for retrofit that only the West Midlands and Greater Manchester have secured from central government – up to 14,000 of the region’s oldest and coldest social and privately-owned homes will be upgraded to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said: “This funding from Government will allow us to upgrade homes, colleges and schools – cutting carbon emissions, cutting bills and most importantly, lifting thousands of families out of fuel poverty.
“We’re not just improving homes; we’re improving lives, and building a greener, fairer West Midlands for everyone.”
Dudley home-owner Kenneth Smith said his energy usage and bills have more than halved after he took advantage of a free WMCA Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) for homes not connected to the mains gas grid for central heating.
His home, previously equipped with “rather inadequate” storage heaters, had solar panels, a heat pump and loft insulation fitted.
He said: “Now I’ve got radiators in every room which is a great improvement. I’ve been monitoring my energy use on a daily basis using the smart energy meter.
“I didn’t really know quite the extent of the savings. I have to say it’s exceeded my expectations. There was no hassle or minimal hassle.”
Mother-of-four Mechelle Mellis estimates she is around £30 a month better off since the retrofit of the block of council flats in Hodge Hill where she’s lived for the past nine years, in a partnership between Equans and Birmingham City Council.
Wall and loft insulation, new ventilation systems, solar panels and battery storage have been installed, along with the building’s balconies being enclosed and new gardens created front and back.
She said: “You don’t need to heat the house up for so long – within five minutes it would heat up. I definitely think it was a lot warmer in the winter.
She added, as an extra benefit the block “looks much better and safer. Everything needed an uplift.”
