ALEO National Executive meeting regional update for London HECA Forum

[ALEO Admin]

- provided by John Kolm-Murray, Acting Chair of the London HECA Forum, for the ALEO Executive meeting held on 14 April 2016.

Details of any meetings held and/or forthcoming:

Our AGM will take place on 22nd April in Camden. A number of constitutional changes are proposed, including changing the name from the London HECA Forum to ALEO London.

Details of any current projects:

The Greater London Authority in February launched a boiler scrappage scheme, where households (those of owner-occupiers or accredited private landlords) containing older, inefficient boilers can apply for £400 cashback to replace them. Applicants can use any Gas Safe Registered installer. Information on uptake is not yet available.

Enfield Council delivered an innovative Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) design in 4 identical, system-built tower blocks, combining a communal deep loop attached to individual heat pumps in each flat. In April they were awarded a Greater London Regional Energy Efficiency & Retrofit Award.

62 bore holes were dug to extract solar energy stored underground pumping this up to individual heat pumps in each property in the tower block. External wall insulation and new windows have also been installed to maximise the energy efficiency of these blocks.

This will reduce heating cost by more than 50% which will help lift resident out of fuel poverty and improve their wellbeing. Typical saving per flat are estimated at over £500 per annum. A number of the properties are being monitored by the BRE through an innovation project, URBANEER, sponsored by DECC, to assess energy usage pre, mid and post installation of measures. Output from this project will be invaluable to accurately model energy usage and inform design of future refurbishment projects. The heat pumps will also be connected to the internet for live monitoring of any faults and energy efficiency, this means we are able to remotely optimise the system performance. They aim to make this project replicable and fundable in 2016 and 2017 to carry out further retrofitting in eligible properties.

This retrofit project will have a dramatic impact on the RdSAP rating of the blocks. The average rating prior to retrofit was band G, they anticipate that upon completion all properties will achieve a band C.

Islington Council’s Seasonal Health & Affordable Warmth Team (and London committee member Toby Morgan in particular) were featured on the BBC Panorama programme, ‘Too Poor to Stay Warm’, aired on 21st March.

Islington Council and the Greater London Authority are working together to explore overheating risk related to poorly-designed district heating schemes.

Any other comments, e.g. issues or barriers:

Elections to the post of London Mayor and to the London Assembly will take place on 5th May. The leading candidates have both made a number of commitments on energy, including establishing a public energy supplier. The London HECA Forum has drafted a letter to Mayoral candidates for the five main parties (Labour, Conservatives, Greens, Liberal Democrats, UKIP) with a number of requests around fuel poverty and domestic sustainable energy.