Warmer, more comfortable homes are now a reality for hundreds of residents
Pilot programme sees housing association Amplius install energy efficiency upgrades at 750 homes
An ambitious project to install energy efficiency measures in hundreds of homes has been used as a feasibility study for future works across the country.
Housing association Amplius, which was formed in December 2024 through the merger of Longhurst Group and Grand Union Housing Group, has completed upgrades at 750 homes.
The association owns and manages more than 40,000 properties and is passionate about ensuring the homes are warm, comfortable and affordable to heat for residents.
Amplius chief development and commercial officer Marcus Keys said: “We’ve got a commitment to ensure that all our stock reaches EPC-C by 2030 in line with the rest of the sector, but we’re really focusing on what we can do to help improve or reduce running costs for customers.”
We’re really focusing on what we can do to help improve or reduce running costs for customers
We joined stakeholders from Amplius on site in Rushden to discuss how hundreds of homes in the area have benefited from energy efficient retrofit measures including external wall insulation, solar panels, digital technologies, ventilation measures and more.
The upgrades to the estate in Rushden were part of the 750-property cohort in the housing associations trailblazer programme, which received funding through the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.1.
Our teams support the administration of funding for this scheme on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Now that its SHDF Wave 2.1 programme has completed on-site works, the organisation is using lessons learnt to scale up for Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 where it hopes to upgrade a further 2,000 homes with similar measures.
It’s already keeping us warm in the house, so that’s good. I’m excited to see the actual finished product when it’s all complete.
Resident Sarah lives in one of the homes set for upgrades through Wave 3. She said: “It’s already keeping us warm in the house, so that’s good.
“We’ve had new windows and doors put in and they look really good.
“I’m excited to see the actual finished product when it’s all complete.”
Watch our short video with Sarah below to hear more about her experience so far and what she’s most looking forward to when upgrades are complete.
