Green house effect

The rush to build Environmentally friendly homes is on: all new properties must achieve a pass in the Eco Homes rating system run by research group BRE or the Housing Corporation won’t stump up funds. And by 2006, the corporation will only pay for homes that get a “good” Eco Homes rating.

But is that enough? In May, a survey by the Association for the Conservation of Energy, a trade body, found that only 23% of people got the full benefit of energy efficiency improvements to their homes. And a report to be published next Wednesday by Sustainable Homes a Housing Corporation-funded body that promotes awareness of sustainable development, says registered social landlords must work harder to tell residents about environmental features.

RSLs, it seems, must do more than simply build efficiently. Unless they teach tenants how to make the most of their specially adapted homes, the effort will be wasted.

So Housing Today visited three families to find out what difference the eco-friendly technology had made to their lives and asked Joanna Yarrow, director of environmental consultancy Beyond Green, how far the tenants and housing associations are really helping the environment.

We are saving …

The Ahmed family moved into Gallions Housing Association’s EcoPark in December 2002 – a development in Thamesmead, to the south-east of London, that has an “excellent” Eco Homes rating. Luthfa and Somir Ahmed live in a four-bedroom house with their children Raihan, 4, Neelima, 8, Sanjidah, 10, and Samiha, 13.

The house features a solar collector, which uses the sun’s heat to make water hot and a super-efficient gas boiler that uses less gas and creates less carbon dioxide than an average model. The house is built from a timber frame using wood from sustainable forest, and has high-standard insulation, argon-filled windows that give twice the insulation of standard double glazing and paints low in volatile organic compounds (carcinogenic substances founds in some paints). To save water, it has spray taps, dual-flush toilets, a smaller than usual bath – it’s only 1.5m long – and a rainwater butt in the garden. There’s energy-efficient lighting and a bike shed in the garden.

The family's view

“When I got the offer of the house I was a bit concerned, because we would have to make a lot of changes in our life,” admits Luthfa Ahmed. But Gallions made sure she was au fait with the eco features before moving in and sustainability manager Rebecca Miller is often on hand to answer questions.

The tenants have seen impressive energy savings so far. “We were in a two-bedroom house and we’re now in a four-bedroom, but the energy bills are about the same,” says Ahmed. The house is on a water meter and the water bill is the same as in the smaller house. “All the kids know how to use the dual flush and the shower is very powerful,” Ahmed adds.

Because she mainly uses fresh ingredients and the family grows vegetables in the garden, Ahmed says they don’t waste much packaging. But they recycle what they do use. There is a can crusher in the kitchen and recycling banks just outside the back gate.

“We were given boxes to separate the things we need to recycle, but they don’t get used much – as soon as the kids have got something, they chuck it in the banks.”

The children and their father all have bikes. “The area’s lovely for cycling and there are good cycle routes near the main roads,” she says. But there’s not a lot else for the children to do nearby – a community space planned by Gallions was turned into a car park and there are no plans for an alternative. The area doesn’t have many amenities either, so the family must get the bus to the shops.

Not all the neighbours have embraced the sustainable lifestyle, however. Since moving in, Luthfa Ahmed says many of them have redecorated – and not always with low-VOC paint, despite Gallions’ recommendations.

Neither has recycling caught on universally. “My next door neighbour will ask me, how come your bin’s never full? I have to explain it’s because I recycle,” says Ahmed.

Joanna Yarrow's verdict

“This family is really trying to live sustainably, it seems to be quite ingrained for them.

“This scheme is streets ahead in terms of the support they’re getting from the RSL, but they are not well served by the area they are in. I was concerned about the amenities – the place feels like a bit of a desert. You can design a really sustainable house but if it’s in the middle of nowhere their lifestyle’s not going to be sustainable.”

It’s getting hot in here

Laura Mannino, Simon Perry and their sons Ashley, 8, Aaron, 7, and two-year-old Donell have lived in a three-bedroom Moat Housing Group house in Greenwich Millennium Village since last year. The south-east London home has an “excellent” Eco Homes rating.

Its energy-saving features include: a combined heat and power system; low-energy lighting; dual-flush toilets; white goods with a European energy rating of A (the best); two recycling bins in the kitchen and a recycling wheelie bin as well as one for refuse.

The house was built using timber from a sustainable source, has air-tight windows and is near to good public transport.

The family's view

This is Laura Mannino’s second home in the village – she moved from a two-bedroom flat. She was delighted when offered this house. “When I knew there was a cost-effective way to live like this, I was all for it.”

Mannino likes the setting. “There’s a lot of greenery. The children’s school is nearby and there will soon be a shop and health centre within walking distance.” She also likes the home’s large windows, which let in lots of natural light, and the thick insulation and air-tight walls, which keep it warm in winter.

But she is frustrated because she feels the properties could have been managed better to help tenants be more energy-efficient. “There are so many things they could have done properly and didn’t,” she says.

For example, the CHP system should help to cut heating and hot water bills but in her first flat, Mannino says, she and her neighbours didn’t know the system existed until 15 months after they moved in, when they received annual heating bills from the management company.

Mannino’s bill was £800 although her CHP unit had not been working properly and the fault took two years to repair. So far, she hasn’t noticed any money savings from her energy-saving home. “I have normal electricity bills, but we had unjust heating bills.”

The house has non-opening windows downstairs, making it extremely hot on summer days, so she bought a £100 air conditioner and a fan, which are both used full-blast in hot weather.

And although the energy-efficient bulbs are supposed to last up to 10 times longer than normal bulbs, they keep blowing. “I had to buy three yesterday,” says Mannino.

She recycles, but has to make extra car trips to the supermarket to drop off her recyclables because the promised doorstep collections have not yet started. Neither did the energy-saving white goods materialise immediately. “When I moved in there was only a cooker,” Mannino says. After three months of car trips to a launderette, the RSL installed a washer-dryer – and though her machine has the A energy rating, a neighbour was given one rated D, much less efficient.

Mannino doesn’t think the family was provided with enough information about the features. A manual was only supplied after a lengthy delay and there has been little discussion about the adaptations, she says. RSL staff seemed ill informed, she says: “When I mentioned CHP to customer service advisers, they didn’t know about it.”

Joanna Yarrow's verdict

“Mannino’s taking an active interest in what’s there but there’s obviously not the information she needs to make the best of what she’s got. And there doesn’t seem to be any route by which she can learn more or through which things can be adapted.

“The most obvious problem is ventilation – she’s now had to spend her own money and put energy bills up massively by having a fan and an air conditioner. The problem with the bulbs suggests she’s getting power surges or using the wrong type of bulbs.”

The landlord says…

“All residents are informed about all aspects of the homes when they sign their tenancy,” says a Moat spokesperson. “They are also given a residents’ handbook, which provides an explanation of the CHP system, and the village has a residents’ association that discusses issues such as CHP.

“In late 2001, Laura Mannino reported faults to her CHP system. These were passed on to the supplier. In September 2003 our new supplier identified the fault and reduced the amount Mannino was billed for.

“Moat has not received any notification of an issue with the energy-efficient bulbs. We would be happy to discuss any concerns.”

A waste management strategy run by Greenwich council is being further developed for other phases of the estate. As a temporary measure bins have been sited in the streets – doorstep collection will start shortly.

Moat has ensured that the fixed-pane windows will not be used in future phases of the development.

The secret refurb

Sandra Chambers and her 14-year-old son Nathan live in a two-bedroom flat in a William Sutton Housing Association estate in Rotherhithe, south-east London.

The 1916 block was refurbished last year. The association says the work was done to the same standard as an adjoining block that was rated “excellent” under Eco Homes.

The work included: adding energy-efficient bulbs to all light fittings; lining all the walls with plasterboard to provide a high level of insulation; providing an energy-efficient gas boiler and adding thermostatic radiator valves to make the temperature in each room adjustable. It also enlarged the flats – reducing them from blocks of 27 to 17 – to provide extra space that can be used for home offices or for drying clothes. Outside, a bicycle rack was installed.

The family's view

A survey conducted by the Association for the Conservation of Energy in April found that William Sutton tenants in Derby were better informed about environment-friendly technology in their homes than at other associations. But Chambers is almost oblivious to any of the changes.

“When I moved in, I got a booklet about the changes but it didn’t mention anything about being environmentally friendly,” she claims. She concedes that with the new double-glazed windows and insulation, the flat gets warm more easily than before, but adds: “Because I pay monthly bills I haven’t really noticed whether they have been higher or lower since we moved in.”

Chambers does make the most of the energy-efficient boiler. “The heating stays on constantly,” she says. “I like to have the flat quite warm.” Indeed, when Housing Today visits the windows are open but the house is still like a sauna.

Perhaps this demonstrates the Sustainable Homes report’s concern that tenants may simply use more energy than before because they know it is cheaper.
Chambers doesn’t have a car and can walk to most places she needs to. Nathan has a bike chained to the railings outside the flat – but the pair claimed to have no idea that a rack had been installed on the estate.

Chambers found energy-saving bulbs were too bright and were longer than the lampshades – they gave her headaches, so she took them out.

She would, though, like to find out more about the flat’s special features. “It’s not until you’ve started talking about this that it’s got me thinking,” she says.

Joanna Yarrow's verdict

“If the association is doing another refurbishment, I think it will need to work a bit harder to make sure all the tenants know what features have been added. Nathan has a bike and obviously is using it regularly, but the RSL should let people who are using bikes know about the cycle racks – and, of course, inform other people and encourage them to get and use bikes.

“Of course by leaving the windows open and the heating on all day, Chambers was cancelling out any energy efficiency she might have had.

“Maybe it would have helped if someone had explained to her that turning the central heating down just one degree could save 10% on her energy bill.

“A lot of people replace their low-energy bulbs and go back to what they know. They think the only option is big bulky bulbs but, again, it could have helped if someone had pointed out there were different options.

“But this is the most self-sufficient location of the three places we have been.

“It’s really well served for public transport, with lots of buses and a tube station nearby, which is partly because it’s an older block of flats in a more established area.

“It’s good that sustainable adaptations can be made to older blocks rather than just building a new block and getting rid of the old one.”

The landlord says

Spokesperson for Moat says: “We provide a comprehensive welcome pack that includes guidance on getting the best out of the central heating, saving water and other green actions.

“Many of the environmental features – such as improved insulation – are not obvious to a casual observer but would certainly be evident in a tenant’s household bills.”

The study by Action for Conservation of Energy praised William Sutton for the way in which it talked to its tenants about the environmental features that are provided in their flats.