Beneficiaries of a green home scheme in Nottingham remain undecided over the benefits two years after the installations. Twelve homes, including five houses and seven bungalows, on Keswick Street in Sneinton benefitted from the improvement works in 2021, which included super insulated wall panels and a new energy efficient heating and hot water system.
The work was part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded Deep Retrofit Energy Model (DREeM) project, which aims to make homes in Nottingham greener and cheaper to run. It is one of many areas across the city to benefit from the scheme.
Two years on from the work, Nottinghamshire Live visited the Sneinton homes to ask residents whether they had seen any benefits. Richard Bostock, who has lived in his bungalow for 10 years, said he didn't think the work was worth it.
"I don't think it's as good as what we were told it was going to be," said the 60-year-old, who lives at the end of a row of bungalows. "I thought it would be warmer.
"In the hallway going round into the living room and the bedroom are still cold in the winter. And in the summer it gets too hot, especially in the living room. In spring and summer the bills are very low. In one way it has helped because you're not paying for gas.
"I can't really say whether it's helped with bills because the prices have shot up. Overall, I don't think it was worth it.
"The only reason I had it done was my old boiler kept losing power. They're better to look at than what they were. But for the money that was probably spent on them, no.
"I wouldn't really advise it but it's the way things are going now." On the other hand, Wayne Pepper, who lives in the middle of a separte row of bungalows, said he went the entire winter without putting on the heating.
"Yeah it's warm, very warm," said the 52-year-old. "It was alright before but it's better now they've done the work and everything.
"You don't have to have central heating on, it's always 21 degrees in the living room. I went through the winter without putting the heating on or anything. I didn't have a back garden either so that was an improvement. It's better overall. To anyone who has the choice I'd say have it done."
Angie Lillistone, Head of Carbon Reduction Projects and Policy at Nottingham City Council, said: "Nottingham City Council is committed to supporting residents to reduce their energy bills and carbon footprints by making energy efficiency improvements to homes across the city.
"Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, now administered by The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Deep Retrofit Energy Model (DREeM) project installed measures such as external wall insulation and new roofs to improve air-tightness and fitted solar panels to the properties on Keswick Street.
"The DREeM project tackles some of the City Council’s older housing stock that is hard to heat in the winter and keep cool in the summer. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) bands of these homes have improved from E or D to A, with A showing that the homes are very energy efficient and will have lower running costs.
"The upgrades to the homes make them more comfortable and improve health outcomes for residents. The environmental performance of the homes is also better, with reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality."
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