RETROFITTING ENERGY-EFFICIENT WINDOWS KEY TO ACCELERATE MANDATORY UPGRADING OF MILLIONS OF SOCIAL HOMES
With local authorities and housing associations facing acute pressure to upgrade millions of social homes in line with modern net zero and thermal performance standards, retrofitting energy- efficient windows and doors will offer a vital way forward. This is the view of Retrofit Right – Making Social Housing More Energy-Efficient, which explores how the sector can decarbonise 4.4 million UK social homes across the UK – mostly built between 1945 and 1980 – in line with legislative requirements and available funding. This new whitepaper from polymer specialist REHAU confronts the scale of this challenge by demonstrating the crucial nature of informed specification of window and door systems. It underlines the importance of these key components in affecting heat loss in residential properties, detailing relevant standards, regulations and metrics such as those governing thermal performance, noise attenuation, security and ventilation. The report goes on to emphasise the importance of local authorities establishing, bolstering and maintaining supply chains to ensure the specification of high-quality components in these retrofitting efforts. As explained by Martin Hitchin, CEO at REHAU UK, this third-party supply chain support is also key to bridging knowledge gaps and easing workloads within the social housing sector that may be exacerbated by the scope of the required works.
“The UK’s residential sector is under great pressure
to reduce emissions in line with net zero targets, including a 78% drop in emissions by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2050,” he explains. “As social housing is publicly owned, there’s undoubtedly additional pressure on local authorities to decarbonise, and also to ensure that every pound spent works as hard as possible to achieve the desired energy efficiency improvements. For strained local authorities and housing association teams, this
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator