Advantages of Renewable Energy for Tenants

  As a provider of Social Housing who may be
  considering renewable energy, you will understandably
  want to know just what advantages of renewable
  energy for tenants are before investing in this
  technology.

  There are a range of benefits to installing
  Heat Pumps and Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems
  for your tenants, not least the ability to help ease the
  burden of fuel poverty via the increased efficiency and
  cost savings available by installing these products.

Listed below are some examples of the advantages of renewable energy for tenants which demonstrate the real value renewable energy can provide.

The advantages of renewable energy for tenants - reducing fuel poverty

Fuel poverty has been placed firmly at the top of the Social Housing agenda by the repeated and considerable increases in energy prices over the past few years. Fuel poverty is an increasing blight on society with upwards of 4 million households in the UK being defined as ‘fuel poor’. By installing renewable energy products, Housing Associations, Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords can positively impact the lives of their tenants by tackling fuel poverty head on.

  The efficiency of Heat Pumps is far superior to traditional heating systems so can
  significantly help to reduce heating costs while by installing 
  Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems, you can also tackle the escalating electricity
  prices borne by your tenants.

The advantages of renewable energy for tenants - reduced maintenance costs

Another of the advantages of renewable energy for tenants is that Heat Pumps and Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems require minimal maintenance removing the potential inconvenience for the tenant who won’t be required to stay in waiting for service personnel to visit the property.
 
Additionally, the costs to Housing Associations, Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords are greatly reduced because there is no requirement for expensive annual service agreements. What’s more, Heat Pumps have a planned life span of 25 years with no loss of efficiency which again demonstrates one of the many advantages of Heat Pumps especially when compared to boilers which can lose up to 2% efficiency for each year of operation and have a usable life span of only around 12 years.

Tenant safety is obviously of paramount importance and renewable energy can play an important role. By installing Heat Pumps for example, water temperatures can be managed more safely to reduce the risk of scalding. Additionally, as Heat Pumps do not produce any harmful emissions or use combustible materials, the likelihood of Carbon Dioxide poisoning or explosion is completely eradicated. The risk of fire is also greatly reduced as there is no open flame or exposed elements and no hot embers to dispose of.

Heat Pumps work by heating up the fabric of the building and topping up steady heat loss the result of which is a constantly warm home for your tenants. As Heat Pumps simply move energy rather than creating it by burning expensive fossil fuels, the cost of heating can be significantly reduced potentially meaning tenants have more access to disposable income and are not constantly worrying about how to meet the cost of spiralling fuel bills which can cause health issues in itself.