Dubbed Engie Zero, a range of retrofit solutions are being made available to Engie customers through the service
Engie has launched a new low carbon housing retrofit service, in a bid to help local authorities, housing associations and other housing providers decarbonise their stock in line with national, municipal and corporate net zero commitments.
A range of retrofit solutions designed to help make homes greener and more energy efficient are being made available to Engie customers through the service, including solar PV and battery storage systems, fabric improvements to roof, walls and flooring, and low carbon heating and hot water solutions, the energy and facilities management firm announced yesterday. Moreover, a number of smart technologies, such as rapid EV charge points and grid balancing technologies are also on offer through the deal, it added.
Engie said it had used its “extensive housing retrofit experience” – including working with Dutch energy efficient building upgrades approach Energiesprong – to develop the new suite of services, which it described as a “fabric first, one-stop shop to decentralise, digitalise and decarbonise homes”.
Dubbed Engie Zero, it envisages upfront costs of retrofit works being financed by savings generated from the improvements, as well as from existing revenue schemes and government incentives, including Energy Companies Obligation (ECO), the renewable heat incentive (RHI) and grid balancing agreements, according to the firm.
Andy Merrin, divisional head of energy and innovation for Engie UK, said the firm saw the development of green home solutions as a “duty” in view of the nation’s 2050 net zero target, as well as the 70 per cent of local authorities which have declared a ‘climate emergency’.
We know that new homes only account for one to two per cent of total housing stock and 80 per cent of the homes of 2050 are already in existence; so it’s clear that our existing supply is a considerable threat to plans for a zero carbon future, Merrin said. More worrying is that in order to meet the UK 2050 target – a total of 300 homes every hour would need to be retrofitted.
The decarbonisation of the UK’s housing stock presents a major challenge, with housing accounting for more than a quarter of the UK’s carbon footprint and half the market currently boasting an EPC rating of D or less. While the government has taken steps to boost the efficiency of UK homes through the Green Homes Grant launched last month, the initiative is only currently set to run for six months and is expected to be oversubscribed, and calls have come for significantly more policy support, regulation and investment to wean UK buildings off fossil fuel heating and bring the UK’s most draughty homes up to scratch.
Housing Minister Christopher Pincher MP praised Engie for launching the new service, which he said would help reduce the environmental impact of the UK’s carbon-intensive housing stock.
All of us have a role to play in the work to deliver a carbon free world, he said.
