UK Social Housing Research Articles

Examining daily electricity demand and indoor temperature profiles in UK social housing flats retrofitted with heat pumps

Examining daily electricity demand and indoor temperature profiles in UK social housing flats retrofitted with heat pumps

Telephone-Based Training Intervention for Using Digital Communication Technologies for Social Housing Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mixed Methods Feasibility and Acceptability Evaluation.

In an era in which digital communication technologies play a pivotal role in everyday life, social housing residents remain highly susceptible to digital exclusion. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a telephone-based training intervention designed to empower people to confidently use digital communication technologies (ie, video calls and web-based messaging). Conducted in collaboration with a UK social housing association, the intervention was facilitated by a unitary authority's Digital Inclusion Team during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed methods approach was used, encompassing quantitative and qualitative data collection on demand, reach, implementation, and potential outcomes. Demographic and qualitative data on the reasons for undertaking or not undertaking the training were collected via telephone interviews during the recruitment process. Digital competency and well-being data were collected via a self-reported survey before and after the intervention. Among the 4485 residents who were offered training, 67 (1.49%) expressed interest, of whom 12 (18%) of the 67 completed the training. The findings indicate a demand for basic digital training among social housing residents. The key findings revolve around the substantial dropout rate among those who were interested in undertaking the training. Barriers were strongly influenced by socioeconomic and health circumstances, reflecting the sociodigital inequalities commonly found in this group. For the training participants, the intervention was acceptable and achieved its goals, demonstrating the potential of tailored, persistent training efforts in overcoming barriers. There were no changes in self-reported well-being or digital competency outcomes (but this was limited by the small sample size). Sociodigital inequalities impact the reach, implementation, and acceptability of telephone-based digital training for social housing residents. Barriers to reaching and training digitally excluded groups can be overcome through the use of trusted intermediaries, personalized recruitment approaches, the minimization of administrative barriers, and tailored and agile training programs. Recognizing the resource-intensive nature of such initiatives, this study calls for enhanced recognition of intermediary efforts in national digital inclusion policies.

Field study of energy and environmental performance of ground source heat pumps retrofitted in a cluster of UK social housing dwellings

This paper uses an empirical field based approach to examine seasonal variation in heat pump electricity use and indoor temperatures across a cluster of 50 social housing dwellings retrofitted with ground source heat pumps (GSHP). The case study dwellings were co-located in a socially deprived housing estate in Oxford (UK). Time series monitoring data was collected on indoor, outdoor and target temperatures, heat pump electricity use (kWh), space heating and hot water operation status (on/off) in non-heating and heating seasons. Contextual data about the dwellings were gathered through heat pump surveys and energy performance certificates. Results showed 60% rise in electricity use during the heating season with statistically significant correlation observed between indoor and target temperatures, energy efficiency rating and monthly electricity use. When electricity use was normalised for outdoor temperature, lower electricity use per heating degree day (HDD) was observed in the heating season in the majority of dwellings, confirming the efficient running of the heat pumps. Mean daily indoor temperatures were found to be stable across majority of dwellings, with peak electricity use largely happening outside of the national evening peak period of 4pm-7pm. Despite there being a ‘Timer’ mode in relation to outside weather, most of the residents used the ‘Manual’ mode of operation to adjust target temperatures, possibly to overcome the low output temperatures of heat pumps. While resident training will help to enhance understanding of heating controls, smarter operation of heat pumps through automation based on optimisation of indoor and outdoor temperature, occupancy patterns, heating preferences and electricity price signals could result in further energy savings.

Examining the Risk of Summertime Overheating in UK Social Housing Dwellings Retrofitted with Heat Pumps

The UK government has announced its ten-point plan to annually install 600,000 low-carbon heat pumps by 2028. However, there is a lack of evidence showing potential overheating risk in dwellings retrofitted with heat pumps. This paper examines the prevalence and magnitude of summertime overheating across 24 naturally ventilated social housing dwellings retrofitted with ground source heat pumps (GSHPs). The dwellings are located in a socially deprived area in Oxford (UK). The empirical study included longitudinal monitoring of indoor temperatures in the living rooms and bedrooms during the non-heating seasons of 2021 and 2022 (May–September), which included a record-breaking heatwave in July 2022. Indoor temperature and CO2 levels in bedrooms were monitored across a subset of six dwellings alongside the monitoring of window opening state in three bedrooms to understand the effect of natural ventilation in removing excess heat. About 136 thermal comfort surveys were conducted to ascertain the subjective responses of residents. Overheating risk assessment was carried out using CIBSE static and adaptive methods, which revealed that summertime overheating was prevalent across half of the dwellings in the non-heating season of 2022, as compared to 17% overheated dwellings in 2021. Bungalows with upgraded cavity wall insulation and top floor flats facing south and south-west had a propensity to overheat. The variation in indoor temperature and CO2 levels across a small sample also indicated the relationship between overheating and residents’ behaviour. Given that the majority of the dwellings were occupied by retired elderly people with low incomes who are vulnerable to heat and cannot afford active forms of cooling, it is vital to deploy passive design measures, such as appropriate shading devices that are suitable for a heating-dominated climate and enhanced ventilation, as part of home energy retrofits. Implementing reversible heat pumps coupled with solar PVs can provide cooling during heatwaves while delivering low-carbon heat in the winter.

Evolving Market Infrastructures: The Case of Assetization in UK Social Housing

Researchers in economic geography have recently turned to examine the rental sector, particularly how institutional investors have begun to reshape the provision of housing. Following the politics of financialization, the built environment and social relations surrounding residential accommodation have been reconfigured to maximize opportunities for capital accumulation. While scholars have further developed their interest in rental markets, by directing their attention to the financialization of social housing, this burgeoning area remains comparatively understudied, particularly concerning the metrics that are crucial in facilitating assetization. In our article, we seek to provide new insight into the financialization of UK housing associations, to advance understanding of how metrics extend the reach of the financialization into the sector, but how these metrics have also been used to both tactically marginalize and reveal social value for different types of financial actors. First, drawing upon research that has studied the creation of assemblages that are critical to assetization, we seek to explore how different financial stakeholders develop new, competing metrics and frameworks that best meet their own needs. Second, we uncover how new metrics are central in reasserting the role of nonfinancial politics in financialization, through the reprioritization of social value in housing association bonds.

Investigating the influence of quality management on building thermal performance

PurposeDespite the number of quality management procedures being currently applied, construction defects in the domestic sector are acknowledged to contribute to the energy performance gap of buildings. This paper investigates the limitations and challenges to the implementation of project quality plans (PQPs) and their impact on the achievement of expected thermal performance in the UK social housing projects.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach, guided by grounded theory, was used in this research. This methodology provided the structure for systematic data analysis iterations, enabling cross-case analysis. An analytic induction process was designed to seek the explanation of the targeted phenomenon and required data collection until no new ideas and concepts emerged from the research iterations. This study collected data from five social housing projects through interviews, site observations and project documentation.FindingsMultiple limitations and challenges were identified in the implementation of PQP to deliver thermal efficient social housing. Generally, there is the need for more objective quality compliance procedures based on required evidence. When investigating the root of the challenges, it was concluded that the adoption of statutory approval as the main quality compliance procedure led to the dilution of the responsibility for prevention and appraisal of defects that compromised the effectiveness of PQP devised by housing associations (HA) and contractors.Originality/valueThis study identifies the shortcomings of PQP in addressing quality issues with potential to undermine the thermal performance of social housing projects. The findings could be used by HA, contractors and policymakers as steppingstones to improve the energy efficiency in the domestic sector.

Actually existing racial capitalism: Financialisation and bordering in UK housing associations

AbstractThis paper provides a critical intervention into recent geographical debates on racial capitalism, interrogating the role that Housing Associations (HAs), the main form of UK social housing, play in its (re)production. Housing Associations are institutional, third‐sector spaces within which novel forms of financialisation and bordering take place. Race is central to these processes, but insufficient critical attention has been afforded to the intersections of class, race, and migratory status in extant research on UK HAs. Moreover, existing research into housing and racial capitalism is provincial in its North American focus, typically examining home ownership and private renting. We argue this is a significant lacuna given that new and multiple forms of racialised exclusion, inequality, and extraction cohere in social housing. There is accordingly a pressing need for a robust interrogation of racial capitalisms through UK HAs, and of the role of HAs via the conceptual lens of racial capitalism. In concluding, the paper argues for a new focus on ‘actually existing’ racial capitalisms, and the need for detailed analyses of the logics and practices of racial capitalisms across a variety of sites and scales, helping debates move beyond their conceptual heartland in North America.

The influence of weather on heat demand profiles in UK social housing tower blocks

Prediction of heat demand is of distinct importance for policy planning in social housing, where residents are in higher danger of falling into fuel poverty. Understanding the behavioural response of fuel vulnerable households against weather allows generating accurate baseline energy models and estimations of energy savings. This paper evaluates weekly heat demand profiles of 462 social housing dwellings in five tower blocks in the South of the UK, monitored over two years. Linear and segmented regressions are fitted through the ‘segmented’ package in R Studio to explore the relationship between heat demand (including Domestic Hot Water and space heating) and Outdoor Temperature, generating energy signature models for each flat. Three distinct heat demand profiles are found: (i) households that do not use space heating (11%), (ii) irregular consumers, where the transition towards the heating season is not identifiable (33%), and (iii) households with marked seasonal thresholds (56%). Consumption trends as well as the effect of extremely weather events such as the 2018 storm ‘The Beast from the East’ on the heat demand are evaluated. Low consuming households show little to no variation in their demand patterns during extreme weather events, whereas higher consumers seem to reach a plateau in their demand even at extremely low temperatures. The variability of heat demand in dwellings which have identical physical properties, and are exposed to the same weather conditions, is attributed to occupant behaviour. This study highlights the heterogeneity of heat demand in social housing and the need to move away from national averages.

Combining self-reported and sensor data to explore the relationship between fuel poverty and health well-being in UK social housing

Linking novel real-time sensor data with comprehensive individual baseline survey data, this study estimates the effect of fuel poverty on the physical and mental health of social housing tenants in the southwest of the UK. Structural equation modeling is applied to show that fuel poverty has a significant negative effect on mental health. Other socio-economic characteristics (such as age, household size) and house characteristics (e.g., energy-efficient rating, house type) are associated with fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is also related to poorer mobility. Our results suggest that special attention should be paid to tenants with disabilities and chronic diseases since they are more vulnerable to fuel poverty and health issues.

Thatcher’s ‘Right to Buy’ reform at 40: a policy feedback analysis of UK social housing policies

Focusing on policy feedback, this article examines the influence, four decades after its enactment, of Margaret Thatcher’s 1980 ‘Right to Buy’ (RtB) policy on today’s social housing institutions in the UK. We argue that through interest-group feedback mechanisms, RtB helped expand and reinforce the UK landlord class. Furthermore, we assert that the policy pressures placed on local councils to embody housing within the welfare state contributed to a path-dependent, privatisation feedback mechanism. More generally, an analysis of the UK case is important as it could help us think about housing privatisation in terms of policy feedback and long-term historical legacies.

Results and insight gained from applying the EnergyCat energy-saving serious game in UK social housing

Concerns about climate change associated with the combustion of fossil fuels urge a call for widespread reductions in household energy use. Determining means of achieving this is a key challenge faced by environmental scientists. The current research presents insights gained from a 12-month empirical trial of new serious game for energy, ‘EnergyCat’; which was designed to encourage household energy reductions in the UK social housing sector. Effects of gameplay on consumption behaviours and energy awareness were explored using 82 UK social housing households (versus a no-game control). Results indicated the intervention did not lead to any substantive changes in awareness or consumption practices. However, post-intervention feedback highlighted several issues in terms of game design and usability that may explain why the game failed to change behaviour in this instance. We provide a framework of suggestions as to how the game design process could be improved in order to engage residents in future, including use of adaptive fonts for older residents, and provision of clearer instructions on gameplay objectives at the outset. In addition, researchers should ensure close collaboration is maintained with residents throughout the design process in future efforts, in order to maximise likelihood of ongoing engagement from this population.

Sustainable built asset management performance indicators and attributes

PurposeThis paper aims to identify key performance indicators (KPIs), and their corresponding attributes, required to successfully manage asset management sustainably in a built environment context. Improving the sustainability of existing housing stock is a major challenge facing the UK social housing sector. There is a lack of support to navigate the growing and often incongruent information relating to sustainable development and how to operationalise it. The problem is twofold; first, the current (single criterion) condition-based approach to maintenance planning constrains asset managers and does not fully address the social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. Second, the toolkits available for assessing the sustainability of housing are often generic and are time consuming and expensive to implement.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the findings of a participatory research project with a leading London-based housing association, using a series of landlord and tenant workshops to derive a set of attributes associated with KPIs to fully reflect the local requirements of the landlord and their interpretation of the sustainability agenda. Five KPIs are considered to be measurable, directly affected by maintenance work and independent of each other were identified by this landlord (comfort, running costs, adaptability, maintenance costs and community).FindingsThe resulting outputs, in a policy context, will provide a clear route map to social housing landlords of how to improve the sustainability of their housing stock with the additional benefits of addressing fuel poverty and carbon emission targets, whilst at the same time, help create and maintain housing in which people want to live.Originality/valueThe proposed approach is flexible enough to incorporate the individual requirements of landlords and be able to adapt to changes in government policy (local and central) in a timely, robust, transparent and inclusive format.

The significance of occupancy profiles in determining post retrofit indoor thermal comfort, overheating risk and building energy performance

Recently, retrofit of tower blocks has gained momentum particularly in the UK social housing sector due to the increasing rate of fuel poverty coupled with deteriorating indoor living conditions. However, the process of making improvements to the thermal performance of building envelopes can significantly impact on occupants' thermal comfort, increasing overheating risks with the changing climate and associated heat waves. The first phase of the study evaluated the building energy performance of a 1960s social housing tower block prototype in London, pre-retrofit, where the building simulation model was created and calibrated with monitored indoor data and occupants' interviews. The second research phase, the subject of this paper, uses the model to further investigate the impact of improved thermal insulation of the building envelope, based on U-values prescribed by the UK Building Regulations (Part L1B), on the potential risk of overheating. The study investigates the impact of retrofitting on occupants’ thermal comfort and building energy performance in the current and future climate scenarios (2030, 2050 and 2080). Results confirm that improving the U-value of external walls will significantly reduce the heating energy use by 70% under future climate scenarios while the To increases by 15–17% with U-value of 0.5 W/m2K and 0.3 W/m2K in comparison to the base case. The overall results indicate that the different occupancy patterns adopted in the simulation model have a significant impact on the predicted duration of overheating which will, in turn, have an impact on determining appropriate retrofit strategies to reduce overheating risks.

Energy use in social housing residents in the UK and recommendations for developing energy behaviour change interventions

Abstract This paper presents a qualitative exploration of domestic energy consumption practices in the UK social housing sector, and perceived effectiveness of varying intervention techniques in motivating energy reductions. The study was conducted using a sample of N = 20 social housing residents, who had recently taken part in a ‘serious game’ energy behaviour change intervention trial, thus making them uniquely positioned to provide such insight and feedback on these issues. A series of one-on-one open-ended interview sessions was conducted in residents’ homes at the end of the intervention period, using an open-ended discussion framework. Thematic analysis revealed that residents were highly engaged with the topic of energy saving, but that several psychological barriers existed which prevented many residents from changing them behaviour. In line with the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Norm Activation Model, these barriers included lack of awareness of the issue, action inertia, and perceived lack of behavioural control. Some residents did make savings following the trial, and our interviews provide useful insight into their decision making and behaviour change processes, including evidence for cross-contextual spillover effects, where residents made savings in other areas. However overall, the serious gaming approach did not inspire engagement from the target population, who frequently mentioned lack of time and/or desire to use overly ‘technical’ solutions for energy savings. Recommendations for ongoing intervention development are discussed, including preference for tailored non-technical visualisation tools and less time intensive versions of the game, and implications for future energy policy development are considered.

Central heating settings in low energy social housing in the United Kingdom

This paper presents essential empirical data on heating setpoint temperatures and durations from UK social housing built to low energy standards. The data was derived from living room air temperature measurements. There were single, double and multiple heating periods per day in the dwellings with mean setpoint temperatures of 20.9°C and 21.0°C on weekdays and weekends respectively. The weekday mean heating duration was 8.4 hours and for weekends, it was 9.1 hours. The results could be used to better inform the assumptions of space heating behaviour used in energy models in order to more accurately predict the space heating energy demands of dwellings.

The role of thermostatic radiator valves for the control of space heating in UK social-rented households

This paper provides an analysis of the relationships between dwelling, household and motivation, behaviour and perception characteristics and thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) settings in living rooms (n = 187) and bedrooms (n = 159) in UK social housing. The work capitalises on primary data from a socio-technical household survey undertaken in Plymouth, UK during 2015, which was coupled with building audit data. The mean reported TRV setpoint temperatures in the living rooms and bedrooms were 23.4 °C and 21.9 °C, implying that occupants prefer cooler conditions in bedrooms. There were systematic variations according to dwelling, household, and motivation, behaviour and perception characteristics. In general, the setpoint temperatures in individual rooms were higher than the whole house thermostat setpoint temperature, implying that there may be a misunderstanding of the role of TRVs in the home heating system. The research could enable social housing providers, the government and commercial organisations to target energy efficiency measures (i.e. thermal upgrades) and social interventions (i.e. behaviour change) at those dwellings and households where their impact may be most beneficial. The results presented could also be used to improve the assumptions of zonal heating behaviour in energy models, which could result in more realistic predictions of the heating demands of social housing.

From welfare to lawfare: Environmental suffering, neighbour disputes and the law in UK social housing

Social housing authorities in the UK frequently invoke a language of ‘anti-social behaviour’ and neighbour nuisance in dealing with disputes between tenants. But this language fails to recognise the poor environmental conditions that cause disputes between tenants in the first place. An ethnographic analysis of neighbour disputes identifies a double move from a politics of welfare to one of lawfare: just as housing providers shift the blame onto individual tenants for tenants' perceived failure to act in socially appropriate manners, so tenants end up calling for more policing and tougher neighbourhood control. This politics of lawfare not only places a moral economy of blame at its core but further undermines the possibilities of transforming environmental suffering into redistributive struggles.

Impact of Emerging Interaction Techniques on Energy Use in the UK Social Housing

End use energy efficiency and fuel poverty is one of the major issues in the UK social housing sector. It is estimated that about 10% of English households live in fuel poverty. During 2015 UK greenhouse gas emission final figures show that the net CO2 emission was reduced by 4.1% between 2014 and 2015. This shows that the UK is on course to attain its second carbon budget with annual 2013–2015 emissions that are each below the estimated level for the period. However, the housing sector lags with a 4% increase in emissions over the same period. More work needs to be done in this sector. Householders can adopt more efficient energy use approaches and make better lifestyle choices to save money and have a safer environment. This research addresses government priorities to reduce energy demand, meet CO2 reduction targets, and reduce domestic reliance on fossil fuels, offering protection from price risks and fuel poverty as well as providing more affordable and comfortable domestic environments. The proposed research paper deals with novel interaction methods on energy use in social housing and how the aforesaid issues can be reflected on. A detailed background study on existing interaction methods and ongoing development of a serious game trialled in 19 households has been carried out. It has been noted that displaying real-time utility use and indoor environmental conditions to householders increased awareness and impacted how energy is being consumed. Furthermore, the proposed paper will investigate end use energy profile pattern changes due to novel interaction methods.

Data quality and governance in a UK social housing initiative: Implications for smart sustainable cities

Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC) consist of multiple stakeholders, who must cooperate in order for SSCs to be successful. Housing is an important challenge and in many cities, therefore, a key stakeholder are social housing organisations. This paper introduces a qualitative case study of a social housing provider in the UK who implemented a business intelligence project (a method to assess data networks within an organisation) to increase data quality and data interoperability. Our analysis suggests that creating pathways for different information systems within an organisation to ‘talk to’ each other is the first step. Some of the issues during the project implementation include the lack of training and development, organisational reluctance to change, and the lack of a project plan. The challenges faced by the organisation during this project can be helpful for those implementing SSCs. Currently, many SSC frameworks and models exist, yet most seem to neglect localised challenges faced by the different stakeholders. This paper hopes to help bridge this gap in the SSC research agenda.

A Study on Sustainable Design Characteristics of the UK Social Housing

A Study on Sustainable Design Characteristics of the UK Social Housing