Waverley residents ‘amazed’ at energy bill savings following retrofit upgrades
More than 50 households to benefit from green home upgrades thanks to a government-funded scheme
Dozens of Waverley residents are already benefitting from energy efficiency improvements such as wall and loft insulation and solar panels.
We visited Waverley in Surrey to chat to residents and council stakeholders to hear about the difference that the upgrades are already making to people’s bills, homes and lives.
Resident Terry, who’s lived in his home with his wife for five years, said: “We have noticed very quickly how [much] we are saving – on electricity especially.
“My wife always checks out the app and is always amazed on what we save.
“Like others, we lost the winter allowance so hopefully this will make up for that.”
Watch our short video with Terry below to hear more about his experience with the upgrades and the difference it’s making to his home.
Resident Annette has lived at her home in Wormley for 14 years.
Over that time, Annette noted that her energy bills were largely inflated by electricity costs because the bulk of her appliances – including the shower and the stove – are electrically driven.
Since solar panels were installed at Annette’s house a few months ago, she says she’s become far more conscious of when and how she uses electricity.
Annette said: “I’m learning all about electricity.
“I’ve learnt to put one thing on at a time whereas I used to put the dishwasher on, washing machine, start cooking something all at the same time, so now I do it separately so I’m using the solar energy rather than drawing off the grid.
“I don’t fill the kettle too much – I’d always fill the kettle full up to boil it and now it’s more like enough for a cup of tea.”
I’ve learnt to put one thing on at a time whereas I used to put the dishwasher on, washing machine, start cooking something all at the same time, so now I do it separately so I’m using the solar energy rather than drawing off the grid.
Annette’s next task, she says, is getting her two teenage children on board with being mindful of electricity use and better utilising daylight hours – where the solar is producing at its peak – to do key activities like charge their phones or take a shower.
The council has provided Annette with the required documentation to sign up for the Smart Export Tariff which may see an additional reduction in her energy bills through selling unused energy back to the grid.
Upgrades at Annette and Terry’s homes were made possible thanks to government funding via the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.2.
Through the scheme, Waverley Borough Council was awarded £279k for upgrades at a total of 59 homes.
Funding for this scheme is delivered on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
You can read more about how the council is using its Wave 2.2 project as a blueprint for delivery for future schemes, as well as watch videos with councillors and council stakeholders who were with us on our visit, through a previous news story on our website.
