Thirteen Housing Group (Thirteen) is a landlord and housing developer, owning, and managing around 35,000 homes across Teesside, the North East, and Yorkshire.
Project Overview
Pennington Choices were appointed to carry out Retrofit Assessments on behalf of Thirteen. We were awarded a programme of 57 Retrofit Assessments to properties (all domestic residences) across Hartlepool in the North East of England. Our Retrofit Assessments adhere to the PAS 2035 standards and helped inform Thirteen’s retrofit coordinator and designers’ future work.
Our Approach
Our assessor completed full Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Surveys for each property, which were lodged with Elmhurst. These included: energy ratings, additional ratings for carbon, anticipated energy costs for dwelling, estimated CO2 emissions, potential savings with retrofitted work and a full itemised breakdown of RdSAP data inputs.
We conducted occupancy assessments that denoted the household's typical energy costs against the household’s actual energy costs and any estimated annual savings. The report also provided an energy usage breakdown (heating, hot water, and lighting/appliances) as percentages as well as selected improvements from loft rafter insulation, party wall insulation, and solar photovoltaic panels. The report also gave room by room analysis reporting on any conditions relating to damp and mould. We provided condition reports via Elmhurst for Thirteen for each property. This included full photographs and details for front view, rear view, loft insulation (150mm), windows and trickle vents, hall, front access, lounge, kitchen diner, landing, and bedrooms. We also provided full floor and EPR plans of all floors of the property.
Our EPC and Stock Condition Operations Manager, Ben Davidson, held regular meetings with Thirteen. Ben prepared monthly progress reports that denoted our successes against KPIs, reporting mechanisms, health and safety, and any pertinent information relating to delivery.
Our Achievements
We provided Thirteen with a completed energy report, condition report, and occupancy assessment, sent directly to their designated manager at pre-agreed intervals (monthly) for each property. The Retrofit Assessment we provided included all the information Thirteen required to make informed decisions about the potential steps they needed to take to improve energy efficiency across their stock. Our procedures have helped inform part of the 'whole building' approach; this means that all areas of the property are thoroughly and comprehensively examined. This informed the retrofit coordinator responsible for undertaking the project management of the subsequent works.
