RSUA has called on the Department for Communities (DfC) to strengthen its proposed Warm Healthy Homes Fund to ensure it can deliver high-quality, whole-house retrofit across Northern Ireland.
We raised concerns about the proposed funding levels, the accreditation of technical home assessors and the general approach to whole-house retrofit as part of our response to the Department’s public consultation on the Fund.
Challenge of eligibility
RSUA considers the proposed maximum funding of £35,000 per property for a full whole-house retrofit, £45,000 for eligible “hard-to-treat” properties and £500 for minor remedial works to be insufficient to deliver the Department’s ambition for high-quality retrofit.
This is particularly concerning given the scale of the proposed Fund, with around 325,000 properties in Northern Ireland potentially eligible, equivalent to more than two in five households.
We have therefore stressed the need to ensure funding levels are sufficient to deliver meaningful interventions.
Accreditation of Technical Home Assessors
While the consultation rightly emphasises the accreditation of contractors installing physical improvements, RSUA considers that similar scrutiny should apply to those undertaking initial technical home assessments.
We have recommended that assessors hold, at a minimum, Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) accreditation in Northern Ireland, with support considered to help professionals gain accreditation.
Varying retrofit potential
While the consultation refers repeatedly to a “whole-house” approach, RSUA is concerned that it focuses primarily on individual fabric and heating measures without explaining how a building’s character will inform retrofit decisions.
A useful starting point for the Department, we suggested, would be to consider RSUA’s forthcoming report, which examines how the energy performance of a typical 100-year-old red-brick terraced house can be improved and will identify the retrofit measures that government should prioritise for financial support.
Avoiding fossil fuel boilers
RSUA has called for the Fund to support the transition away from fossil fuel heating. Where an air-source heat pump (ASHP) is not considered technically feasible or economically viable, the Fund should not default to installing a fossil fuel boiler.
Furthermore, when an oil heating system breaks down, the Fund should help households overcome the practical and financial barriers to switching directly to an ASHP or, where appropriate, another lower-carbon heating system.
Alternative approaches
RSUA is concerned that the Fund’s ambition to deliver a broad range of fabric and heating measures within the proposed budget could result in a piecemeal programme that achieves neither meaningful whole-house retrofit nor consistently high standards of installation.
We have suggested that the Department could instead also consider either delivering a smaller number of comprehensive, high-quality whole-house retrofits or focusing on one or two simple, low-risk fabric improvements, such as loft or cavity wall insulation, delivered consistently and at scale.
More information
Our full consultation response can be accessed here.
If you have any questions or comments about this response, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk
