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    Technical Notes 2022, Issue 141 - EESSH2 – New Technologies EESSH2 – New Technologies

    • Report by:

      Ann Davie, Depute Chief Executive

    • TN Number:

      141-22

    • Subject:

      EESSH2 – New Technologies

    • Responsible Officer:

      Alan Bauer, Executive Officer – Assets & Facilities

    • Publication:

      This Technical Note will be published on the Council’s website following circulation to Member. Its contents may be disclosed or shared outwith the Council.

    Section

    1. The purpose of this Technical Note is to provide Members with an overview of how investment in new technologies during 2022/23 will support the future achievement of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing post-2020 (EESSH2) in East Dunbartonshire, as requested at the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee on 25th August 2022.
       
    2. EESSH is the national standard which aims to improve the energy efficiency of social housing in Scotland and was first introduced in 2014.  The EESSH target varied depending on house construction and heating system but for the majority of properties required them to reach an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of band C or be treated as meeting EPC band C by December 2020.   
       
    3. EESSH2 is the second phase of the programme and requires all social housing to meet an EPC rating of band B or be treated as meeting EPC band B by December 2032 and that no social housing is to be re-let with an EPC of band D or below from December 2025 onwards. A formal review to assess progress and confirm additional requirements will also take place in 2025.
       
    4. In practice, the measures required to improve properties from EPC band C to EPC band B will vary by property type, current performance, technological viability, financial feasibility and the agreement from tenants to access the property to undertake the works required.   Some measures may also require the agreement of neighbouring owner occupiers, for example where External Wall Insulation is proposed for mixed tenure properties.  Where measures involve the use of new technologies to improve energy efficiency, for example the use of Low Carbon heating systems as alternatives to gas central heating, officers will liaise closely with tenants to ensure a full understanding of the implications and operation in practice of such changes.
       
    5. Whilst precise measures will be dependent on a variety of factors as illustrated above, some examples of new technologies which will be considered will include:
    • Air source heaters / heat pumps
    • Ground source heat pumps
    • Solar hot water
    • PV panels
    • Insulated doors
    • External insulation
    • Battery storage linked to PVs
    1. Ahead of developing a multi-year programme of planned works to the housing stock, a budget of £150k has been allocated within 2022/23 which will be used to inform the development of the strategy for the transition to EPC band B.  Two projects are currently in progress – the first involves the completion of an energy performance analysis of building archetypes across the existing stock, which will be used for modelling the potential impact of different interventions to those properties and how energy performance will be affected by those interventions.  The second involves applying some of the emerging principles of that work to the refurbishment of sheltered housing at Burnbank, Milngavie as part of pilot project.
       
    2. On-going updates one each of the above projects will continue to be provided via the regular Housing Capital Monitoring Reports and a further update on the wider strategy to achieve EESSH2 will be provided via the revised Housing Capital Investment Plan 2023-24 to 2027-28, due in February 2023.