United House

Sustainability in Refurbishment

Low carbon refurbishment

There are 26 million homes in the UK and 70% of them will still be there in 2050. It is therefore apparent that addressing carbon reduction in existing housing stock will have be fundamental part of the strategy to achieve the Climate Change Act goal of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050.

United House is pioneering low cost eco-refurbishment with its proprietary Value Carbon method, which measures the value of improvements by delivering the biggest cuts in household bills and carbon emissions for the lowest cost.

High rise blocks

We are one of the founding partners of the 80:80 Partnership, set up to examine sustainable refurbishment in tower blocks. This is a partnership between United House and:

By combining external over-cladding, Grade A boilers and upgraded glazing, we achieved a 30% reduction in the carbon footprint of five buildings on the Chalcots Estate in Camden. The benefits for residents were warmer homes and lower heating bills.

Older street properties

We are leading the way in eco-retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of older street properties in a number of London boroughs, as well as lowering the energy bills of those who live there.

Working in partnership with Notting Hill Housing Trust at Sterndale Road in Hammersmith, we transformed a Victorian property into a low carbon, energy efficient family home. Following this successful pilot study, we will be applying similar measures to fourteen further homes in the neighbourhood, saving residents around £1,300 per year each on their energy bills.

At Aubert Park in Islington, we developed an exemplar low carbon refurbishment eco-home in a Victorian terraced house through achieving a 70% reduction in carbon emissions. United House’s proprietary Value Carbon method was used to measure the value of improvements by delivering the biggest cuts in household bills and carbon emissions for the lowest cost.

In the London Borough of Barnet, twenty homes in Churchmead Close were refurbished with a range of improvements including windows, doors, condensing boilers, low energy lighting, wall and roof insulation, and low energy fans. Household fuel bills were cut by an average of £240 a year as a result.

In spring 2010, we started work on the UK’s first mass low carbon retrofitting project in Islington. An extension of the Decent Homes programme and part of the Islington housing PFI contract, and supported by CERT funding, it involves the insulation of the internal walls of 200 homes, with the residents in occupation, and will save each household around £300 per year on energy bills.

Bertram low-carbon retrofit using the WHISCERS™ process

In autumn 2010, United House carried out a low-carbon retrofitting of a solid walled, three-storey Victorian terraced house in Bertram Street, Camden using the revolutionary WHISCERS™ laser technology for the first time, while the residents continue to live in the property. The refurbishment, developed as part of the TSB's 'Retrofit for the Future' competition, utilised laser scanning, off-site cutting of internal wall insulation and fitting with residents in situ. The retrofit is expected to deliver 77% carbon savings and reduce fuel bills by nearly £600 a year. For more information on WHISCERS™ click on the video above, or email info@unitedhouse.net.

Click here to access our low-carbon retrofit website