Home energy efficiency programme (HEEP)
‘Home energy efficiency programme (HEEP)’ to be launched in London in April 2010’ – The LDA’s Homes Energy Efficiency Programme (HEEP) is an ambitious £9.5 million programme of retrofitting existing houses across London to:
- reduce carbon emissions
- achieve cost savings for householders
- create ‘green’ jobs
- stimulate business growth.
What does it offer and to who?
Londoners will be given an opportunity to cut their bills and make their homes more energy efficient under this programme.
It encompasses all housing tenures across London including owner occupied, privately rented, social housing and landlords.
It is to offer something for every borough and every household and is a whole house approach. The aim is to upscale existing homes retrofit schemes and leverage additional funds for London.
The scheme will include free-of-charge, easy-to-do and innovative measures – from changing to low energy light bulbs to installing stand-by switches. The aim is that more substantial steps, such as loft and cavity wall insulation, will involve no upfront costs and be free for those on benefits and subsidised for those able to pay.
How to access its offering
It aims to begin roll out from April 2010, after the completion of technical trails and demonstration projects to showcase how to retrofit homes to become more energy efficient.
The programme is at the stage of seeking bids from London’s five housing sub-regions to deliver demonstration projects as part of the development of a pan-London Homes Energy Efficiency Programme. Each Sub-region can bid for approx. £250,000 in order to deliver the programme to up to 2000 homes on an area basis. In April 2010, the programme will be rolled out across London.
What are the benefits?
The pan-London scheme benchmarks best practice delivery models across all tenures and facilitates a consistent approach that can be scaled up to meet London Carbon reduction targets.
The programme’s main focus is energy efficiency and carbon reduction. However, the scheme will also incorporate funding streams that address fuel poverty and decent homes. Only by utilising these various funding streams in a holistic and integrated fashion, on a well-managed area basis, can HEEP achieve the standards and scale required.
Who’s delivering the programme
HEEP is a joint initiative between the Mayor of London, the London Development Agency, London Councils, and the capital’s 33 boroughs.
The programme will be operated by London’s borough councils and will aim to provide improvements on an area basis. Housing Sub-regions and boroughs will be given full support from the LDA, GLA, London Councils and senior management as well as support from the HEEP team and the Energy Saving Trust.
Why the LDA is involved?
Over a third of London’s carbon dioxide emissions are generated from homes. HEEP aims to build on existing schemes designed to improve London’s domestic homes providing residents with a series of simple measures to reduce their energy use.
By working with London’s boroughs and the utility companies, this will generate a step change in energy consumption across the capital, and make real progress toward the Mayo’s target to cut London’s carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2025.
While there is a range of organisations providing energy efficiency schemes to Londoners, a single city-wide scheme would provide consistency for residents, increase uptake and boost the potential to attract additional funding.