Retro-fit council bungalows cutting the cost of tenants' electricity bills

And the turnaround in their energy-consumption fortunes has won the team from Swansea Council and Cardiff University's Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) a top building industry award and is being hailed as an opportunity for others to learn from.

The pioneering properties are on the edge of the Craig Cefn Parc community, near Clydach and, until the major refurbishment three years ago used LPG, oil and/or electricity to heat their homes.

Now the homes have seen carbon emissions fall by 94% and monthly energy bills reduced significantly.

The homes have won the Domestic Property of the Year accolade at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers awards.

Judges said they were very impressed with the Welsh School of Architecture's approach to the project which would have "far-reaching impacts in Wales and beyond."

Andrea Lewis, Cabinet Member for Service Transformation, said: "This homes as power stations initiative has produced great results for tenants. Their homes have been transformed from energy-guzzling properties into some of the most efficient around.

"That's helped see their energy bills reduce significantly, slashed the buildings' carbon emissions and, just as importantly, provided reliable information for other builders about the potential of energy-saving technology to tackle climate change.

"I want to pay tribute to the team at Cardiff University's Welsh School of Architecture for the great work they've done on this project.

"The improvement works were completed by the Council's Building Services Team so this will enable us to learn from our experience to build or retrofit more energy efficient homes in future years. At a time of a cost of living crisis and a climate crisis it makes sense for tenants, homeowners and the planet to benefit from this experience."

The 'retrofit' scheme combined traditional refurbishment work with new technology, transforming them into some of the most modern, comfortable and cheap to run homes in the County.

Each of the bungalows were fitted with solar panel roofs to generate electricity. Excess electricity produced by the solar panels is stored in a battery which the homes could use to power appliances, heating and hot water when they were needed. Ground source heating technology is also being used to at the homes to help keep the properties warm and provide hot water which have lower carbon emissions.

Alongside the installation of low energy technology, the Council also carried out more traditional refurbishment work which included renewing roof coverings allowing for the solar panels to be integrated into the roof. Installing external wall insulation and new windows and doors helped to reduce heat loss.

The WSA post-completion monitoring shows not only a massive drop in carbon emissions but  also demonstrated that in the March-September months 95% of energy was provided by the property 'in-house', leading to significant reductions in overall electricity costs.

Professor Joanne Patterson, Director of Research at the Welsh School of Architecture, who led the project for Cardiff University said: "We have taken a fabric-first approach in all of the homes that we have improved, reducing the amount of energy used first followed by adding active systems such as low carbon heating and solar panels.

"It is not all about reducing energy and carbon emissions, although this is a huge benefit. It is also about reducing the cost of energy bills and improving comfort and health and wellbeing for residents - improving quality of life."

The cost of the modern, environmentally-friendly technologies was funded from a £3 million grant at the WSA to take forward affordable low carbon technologies in the built environment in Wales. 

The investment was part of a £26 million EU funded project - SPECIFIC, which was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Government, and also by InnovateUK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).