Another retrofit on three 1960s tower blocks in the north of the city has already cut bills in an area where fuel poverty is a huge issue. Heating is a mix of air source heat pumps and high efficiency gas boilers – but the flats are so well insulated little energy is required. Suitcase-sized units above the bathroom ceilings suck out warm moist air, extracting heat and using it to warm fresh air that is piped to the living spaces. There’s wee bits and pieces in it you think - my God, this could work somewhere else.” Making an old building airtight creates new problems with condensation and mould, so mechanical ventilation and moisture reduction are also part of the work.
“We will learn from this, we will take it away, we’re not doing the normal work. Site manager Gerry Hughes has been insulating buildings for 30 years, but this work is very different.
At the side and rear, the outside walls are clad with non-combustible mineral wool. The sandstone front is retained by stripping back the inside walls to the brickwork and fitting insulation internally. When the tenants move back next year, monthly bills could be as low as £10 to £15. “It’s a massive balancing act of energy efficiency versus heritage,” says Drew Carr of John Gilbert Architects. With all eight flats in the block vacant, Southside Housing Association is trying to reach the ambitious EnerPHit standard for retrofitting older properties.
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