The initiatives are intended to contribute to its long-term aims of becoming carbon neutral and eliminating fuel poverty.
Investment totalling £100m over the next five years will include:
- £36m spent on new double/triple glazed windows to make homes more energy-efficient;
- £10m on external wall insulation to help improve the thermal efficiency of homes and cut fuel bills; and
- £10m on ‘connected response’, a system that has been shown to reduce energy use in electric heating by up to 30% and cut bills by up to £300 per year.
Wheatley, like other social landlords, is working to improve the energy performance of its homes by 2032, under the Scottish government’s requirement for Energy Efficiency Standards in Social Housing (EESSH).
The group will also invest £10m on new technologies to improve energy efficiency as they become available to meet these EESSH targets.
Stephen Devine, Wheatley’s director of assets and sustainability, said: “Wheatley is absolutely committed to creating ‘Greener Homes, Greener Lives’ across Scotland over the next five years – and we want to inspire our staff and the communities we serve to help us meet climate commitments and reduce carbon emissions.
“Many of our communities are already benefiting from our massive investment programme, including new energy-efficient heating systems in multi-storeys and solar panels, which make our homes more environmentally friendly and reduce heating costs.”
Other future plans will include an emphasis on green jobs and apprenticeships – including with Wheatley’s partner City Building (Glasgow) – in renewables and low-carbon alternatives to gas, such as electric and hydrogen heating, as well as more electric vehicles and improved recycling.
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