Nottingham is edging ever closer to becoming a ‘Smart City’ following the completion of another REMOURBAN phase. This time, it’s Sneinton’s homeowners and private tenants that have received energy improvements to cut their heating bills and carbon emissions.

Project Managers, Nottingham Energy Partnership (NEP) have installed a combination of solid wall insulation and room in roof insulation to 49 homes in Sneinton’s Windmill Lane area. Solid wall insulation not only improves the thermal efficiency of a home, it provides sound proofing and lifts the look of a property by means of a fresh new render. Householders can look forward to yearly savings of up to £400 off their heating bill following these improvements.

Each home owner/private landlord received a REMOURBAN grant towards the work, leaving a contribution of between £1,260 and £2,280 to pay, depending on the property type. Without the grant, this home improvement would normally cost upwards of £8,000.

To help householders pay for their contribution, NEP worked with Nottingham Credit Union to introduce a zero interest loan. It meant the insulation became a more realistic option as the cost could be paid in chunks without accruing extra costs.

Of the 49 properties, 24 were Victorian and deemed ‘harder to treat’ due to their period detailing.  These properties required a more complex insulation system and received a mix of internal and external wall insulation, so their ornate Victorian features could remain untouched.

Following the install of the insulation, five homes now have monitoring equipment which measuring the humidity, temperature and gas and electricity over two years (until December 2019). This data will be useful in illustrating the health and monetary benefits of solid wall insulation. It will be analysed by colleagues at The University of Nottingham, fellow project partners in this European funded scheme.

As well as having a more affordably warm home, some householders said yes to a free LED a lighting upgrade too.

For more information about the REMOURBAN project as a whole, visit the project website.