‘I feel so lucky to have had this’ – energy efficiency works transform house into warm home

The house in Coventry was originally given an energy performance rating of an F, meaning it was difficult to keep warm. We’ve carried out works to bring this up to an EPC B – which is much more energy efficient.

The works carried out included loft insulation, external wall insulation, installing a heat pump and installing solar panels. 

The project was delivered in partnership with our contractor Westdale Midlands who carried out the work.

Our customer, Amanda, has noticed a drastic difference after having the work done.

She said: “I feel so lucky to have had this work done. I didn’t expect it to change this much – the results are life changing.

“The house has been warmer for sure, it’s more comfortable living here now because of the warmth. It’s like having a new house again. It’s a new lease of life, I’m not stressed about feeding the electric meter every day.

“I have been so, so lucky I can’t find the words to say how appreciative I am of having the work done.

“I can’t believe how warm the house was over the winter. I found myself paying just £4 per day instead of between £10 and £15. I’ve been able to spend the money I’ve saved on decorating the house with wallpaper rather than painting the old wallpaper I had up.”

Amanda said prior to the energy efficiency works completed she would feel cold in the house.

She added: “I have been in a cold house for years and since this work has been done, it’s been great.

“Previously it was a battle to warm the house up. Visitors would shiver even though I had the heating on but now the house is amazing. I don’t feel hunched up with the cold anymore – it’s a health benefit.

“It was definitely worth having the work done – I would advise everyone to have it.”

The home was originally excluded from the Wave 2.1 programme which we are running in Coventry thanks to funding from the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund.

The planned measures wouldn’t have been enough to bring this home up to an EPC C so we decided to go further and carry out a pilot to undertake a whole house retrofit with support from Westdale Midlands to give Amanda a warmer and more energy efficient home.

Our Head of Assets and Sustainability, Chris Morris, said that this was an important project to complete.

He said: “We’re thrilled to hear the impact the energy efficiency works have had on Amanda and that she’s happy with the results.

“We needed to carry out enhanced energy efficiency works on the home due to it having inefficient heating and solid wall construction. We worked with Westdale Midlands to carry out the works on the home which included installing an air source heat pump and solar panel with battery storage.

“We initially asked them if they would be willing to work on a more complex project with us to highlight that complex retrofit can be carried out while customers are still living in the homes. The project has been a resounding success and has gone beyond our expectations to bring the property up to an EPC B. This gives us confidence to use this type of approach in the future.

“We’re proud to be working with our partners in this way to make a difference to our customers.”

Director at Westdale Midlands, Adrian Bishop, added: “We were delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with Citizen on this home.

“It was humbling to see how a carefully thought-out specification, utilising an EWI (external wall insulation) fabric-first approach, coupled with solar panels, battery and an air source heat pump brought about such transformative improvements, in both the quality of living and the cost savings Amanda now enjoys.

“This innovative pilot project supports how fabric-first, enhanced with renewables, really can change people’s lives and can have such a positive impact for the residents, particularly when we have such forward thinking clients like Citizen to work with.”