Langley residents praise energy efficiency upgrades for lowering bills and warming homes
Ambitious domestic retrofit programme in Slough sees more than 150 homes upgraded
Located 20 miles west of central London, the Berkshire borough of Slough is home to more than 167,000 residents.
Nearly 6,000 social homes across the borough are owned and managed by Slough Borough Council, which is working to bring all its homes up to energy performance certificate (EPC) C by 2030.
EPC ratings show how energy efficient a property is, considering insulation, lighting and heating. EPCs are designed to help people to understand the energy performance of a home.
The numerical scale uses bandings to rate from a ‘very efficient’ A to an ‘inefficient’ G.
To support this work, the council is upgrading homes with energy efficiency measures including external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, solar panels, windows, doors, ventilation and more.
We were on site in Langley in Slough to speak with council and contractor stakeholders and residents and hear more about the positive outcomes for residents following the upgrades.
To me, it’s like a big blanket wrapped around my house and I’m very cuddly in the middle of it.
Resident Jean McGonagle, who has lived in Langley for more than 65 years, said: “To me, it’s like a big blanket wrapped around my house and I’m very cuddly in the middle of it.”
Watch our short video to hear more from long-term residents Jean and Dilshad, who’ve both lived in Langley for more than six decades, or read on as we discuss their experiences with the scheme.
Resident Dilshad, who has lived in her Langley home since 1966, mentioned one particularly cold corner of her living room where black mould used to appear regularly.
Her home was upgraded with external wall insulation, loft insulation and new windows and doors funded through the scheme.
Last winter, no mould appeared in that same corner.
We also spoke with resident Amran, who has been in her home for a year and a half.
During the visit, her adult son and daughter discussed a notable difference in the comfort of the home alongside a slightly different feeling of ‘comfort’ in knowing their mother’s home would remain warm and her energy bills would reduce.
The upgrades to Jean, Dilshad and Amran’s homes were made possible with funding delivered via Slough Borough Council through the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.2.
Funding for this scheme is delivered on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and assured by our teams at Salix.
Through the scheme, the council was awarded more than £1.3 million in grant funding.
The scheme requires grant recipients to, at minimum, match the level of grant funding investment, bringing the total project value to more than £2.6 million.
With this, the council has upgraded a total of 156 homes at benefit to local residents.
The council is now continuing to deliver energy efficiency upgrades utilising further funding from the government’s Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (Wave 3).
It hopes upgrades will continue to support further residents with warmer, more comfortable homes and lower energy bills, just as it has for Jean, Dilshad and Amran.
