Monday 11 November 2019

Scotland invests £3m to boost energy efficiency of social homes

A total of 11 social landlords in Scotland are being granted funding to boost the energy efficiency of homes across the country.

The Scottish Government has announced a £3 million second round of the Decarbonisation Fund to support the installation of technologies like insulation, ground source heat pumps, solar panels and underfloor heating.

The measures are expected to make it cheaper to heat homes and help reduce the carbon footprint of almost 900 social rented properties in Scotland.

It follows the announcement of a new standard earlier this year to further improve the energy efficiency of homes in the social housing sector in Scotland.

The new standard aims to maximise the number of homes in the social rented sector attaining an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating B by 2032.

Scottish Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “A warm, energy efficient home means cheaper energy bills for tenants as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, 15,000 Scottish households saved more than £4.6 million on fuel bills as a result of energy efficiency measures installed through the Scottish Government’s schemes, such as insulation, double glazing and heating controls.

“This funding will support our work to remove poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty, as well as helping meet our climate change targets.”