Research into sustainable energy and relieving fuel poverty in Multi Storey Buildings

Completed

Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Refining, transport and storage of oil and gas)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)

Not Cross-cutting
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)

Project Contact
Northern Gas Networks

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 January 2013

01 July 2013

6 months

£195,000

Information Technologies

Yorkshire & Humberside

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, Northern Gas Networks

This is a collaborative project between four organisations into shifting our approach to supplying energy to MSBs and researching alternative approaches to managing fuel poverty, alternative heating and power and managing resident needs and expectations. This approach to multi organisation collaboration to resolve a number of building energy related issues is unique in the UK and will move this project from discussion planning stage to setting out exact requirements becoming a model for future collaborations with other northern authorities. Above ground asset on buildings above six storeys are a risk to the residents and the buildings. Maintenance is extremely labour intensive and difficult. Detailed inspection, repair and replacement are intrusive for the residents, expensive and time consuming. Removing these assets and leaving residents with Electrical Heat could result in further fuel poverty and place an unacceptable burden on the electricity grid. Removing high rise supplies and providing residents with a renewable heat source that removes the burden on the electricity network is a major challenge on all three parties in this project.

Multi storey buildings and their residents occupy a very difficult sector to access in order to improve safety, reduce fuel poverty and address technical issues with the assets within the buildings. If new high storey properties were built today they would not have a gas supply to every floor and would optimise the use of clean alternative energy supplies. If a gas network removed the Gas supply to the building it has the potential to impact on the electricity network and increase the resident’s exposure to fuel poverty. Replacing these assets is expensive and technically difficult Working jointly with two major authorities to undertake a feasibility study into a variety of options to de-risk these builds, provide options for future low carbon solutions, work within development plans to determine optimal solutions and work up proposals for selected project plans. Identifying a multi story building or group of buildings with high level of fuel poverty, working with NPG & Housing Associations to facilitate a renewable heat source project.Note : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above

11/12/18