Changeworks worked with Melville Housing Association to install external wall insulation at two of its properties in Penicuik, the environmental charity said on 12 October 2023. The work forms part of a wider programme targeting 75 homes1.
Changeworks delivers Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES: ABS), described as the Scottish Government's flagship energy efficiency programme, for Midlothian Council. It acts as managing agent for the wider EES: ABS project in Midlothian and oversaw the installation and quality assurance at the Melville properties in Penicuik1.
The schemes are aimed at private homeowners and are intended to reduce carbon emissions from homes while alleviating fuel poverty. Changeworks encouraged Melville Housing Association to take advantage of the economies of scale of works already going on in the area, so that efficiency measures could be provided for its tenants at reduced cost1.
The case study states that Scotland has some of the leakiest homes in Europe when it comes to heat, and that an uninsulated house can lose up to 30 per cent of its heat through the walls. External wall insulation is described as a layer of insulation fixed to an existing wall on the outside of a home, which can help keep heat in for longer and reduce the energy needed to keep a home warm1.
"Areas where we've previously installed external wall insulation have seen significant improvements in heat retention, crucial with the cost of energy as high as it currently is."
Neil Edgar also said that improving the energy efficiency of Melville's homes is an important priority for the association, and that it appreciated Changeworks' help in delivering the project1.
Why it matters for households
Heat lost through uninsulated walls is heat a household has paid for and does not use. The 30 per cent figure cited by Changeworks is a measure of that loss, and it applies to walls rather than roofs or floors, so it points to the fabric of the building itself rather than to behaviour or heating controls1.
For a tenant or owner in a solid wall property, external wall insulation changes the building rather than the boiler or the tariff. That matters for energy independence in the plain sense that a home needing less energy to stay warm is less exposed to the price of that energy, whatever the price does. The two Penicuik properties are social housing, where the tenant does not commission the work and cannot usually choose the measure; the decision sits with the landlord. The site's guide to insulation in rented and social housing sets out how that split of responsibility works.
External wall insulation is one of two approaches to solid walls, the other being internal insulation, and the two differ in cost, disruption and how much floor space is lost; the comparison is set out in internal vs external solid wall insulation. Households weighing the work may also want the practical detail on how long external wall insulation takes to install and on typical annual savings.
What happens next
Changeworks says it looks forward to working with Melville Housing Association again in future, in Edgar's words1. No further dates, properties or funding figures for the 75-home programme have been reported.
Sources1 cited
- Changeworks and Melville Housing Association, changeworks.org.uk