Social Housing Action to reduce Energy Consumption

 

Background

SHARE stands for Social Housing Action to Reduce Energy consumption.  The whole project focuses on SHARE-ing knowledge and experience.

 

Firstly, there is the sharing of information and ideas between the eight project partners working together.  As the partners represent a good mix of member states: from west to east; north to south; rural to urban; new to old; there is a lot of scope to learn from each other. 

 

Another aspect of sharing occurs in the social housing for a which are the primary focus of the project.  

 

 

Aims

 

The overall aim of the project is to increase the sustainability of energy use and reduce carbon emissions and the risk of fuel poverty in social housing. To achieve this the project activities seek to: 

 

• Raise awareness of the benefits of sustainable energy use among residents and social housing providers

• Raise the profile of sustainability considerations when refurbishing and maintaining housing

• Increase the level of behavioural energy saving practices among residents

• Maximise financial and technical resources available for improvement measures

• Enable exchange of knowledge and experience from across Europe

 

Activities

 

Social Housing Forums

Each project partner has established local or regional social housing forums to examine the issues around energy use in social housing.  These forums include housing staff and tenants, building contractors, installers, architects, welfare agencies and energy companies.

 

 

Many social housing providers face common issues and familiar problems.  The SHARE forums provide an opportunity to discuss these problems and use each other’s experiences to help resolve them.  Partners can share resources and materials,  to the benefit of all, especially the smaller housing providers.

 

Early examples of forum activites are:

Two social housing providers in Gloucestershire are beginning to write specifications for installing renewable technology

In Germany, the forum has been used to plan a demonstration flat with energy efficient appliances, energy advice stands and ‘hands on’ exhibits

 

Training sessions

 

 

A programme of training sessions will be run for staff and tenants of social housing providers to increase awareness of energy issues amongst participants and provide appropriate and applicable knowledge to pass on to others.

 

There will be five different 3 hour courses taking place across Gloucestershire during 2006-2007. The five courses are:

 

• Heating and hot water controls

• Energy supplier issues - meters and bills

• Non-heating appliances - purchase and use

• Understanding and avoiding condensation

• Renewable energy technologies

               

Awareness campaign and advice services

 

The SHARE project also includes an awareness campaign to make residents aware of the energy advice services that each partner organisation offers.  In Gloucestershire, SWEA offers tenants and leaseholders free energy home visits, energy advice fact sheets and calls to the advice line. 

 

After consultation and testing with a focus group of tenants, the awareness campaign is based around a fictional energy advisor called Penny.  This approach emphasises the friendliness and approachability of the advice line.  It also gave the opportunity to use some eye catching imagery and humour in order to get the message across.  

 

The “Ask Penny” campaign includes posters, branded sticky notes and thermometer cards. 

 

 

Funding

 

Funding for the UK project is through Intelligent Energy Europe and through Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with several key social housing landlords in Gloucestershire. 

 

European Partners

There are eight European partners involved in the project:

 

• Severn Wye Energy Agency, UK - lead organisation

• Tipperary Energy Agency, Ireland

• Energy Agency for South East Sweden

• Sofia Energy Centre, Bulgaria

• Beratungs und Service Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH, Germany

• Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Slovenia

• Priorterre (formerly Energies Environnement 74), France

• Sihtasutus Regionaalsad Energakeskused, Estonia

 

The project website www.socialhousingaction.com has a wealth of information including updates of forums, training sessions and the awareness activity.  It also includes energy briefing notes for housing professionals in Gloucestershire.