Energy efficiency improvements

Ongo is committed to improving the energy efficiency of your home, and we’ll fit your home with the things it needs to be more energy efficient.

We’ve secured funding from the Government for a range of improvements and upgrades which will make a difference to your home.

We’ve invested in a dedicated team and specialist contractor support to make this happen for you. We’re at the initial stages of this project and there’s lots of behind the scenes work to do before we can start work to your home.  We’ll be in touch with you as soon as we can give you more information.  The first contact you will have from our contractor is to complete a survey of your home.

It’s important to tell you that its possible no improvements will be completed to your home if it’s rated as EPC C.

Our pledge to you

  • Works are totally free of charge.
  • They will reduce your energy usage and lower bills.
  • This is fully guaranteed work, provided by experts.
  • Works will reduce the risk of condensation, damp and mould.
  • You’ll have a home that’s better for the environment through reduced carbon emissions.
  • Works will make your home feel warmer.
  • You may find that you have improved health and wellbeing.

More details about the work that may be carried out in your home

Solar panels

Solar panel installation

Wherever possible, we will be installing solar panels.  Solar panels are installed on the roof of your home.  They convert the energy from sunlight into free electricity for your home even on overcast days.  Where, and how many panels, we can install will depend on:-

  • Your property’s geographical location
  • Your roof’s pitch and the direction it faces
  • The size of your solar panel array
  • Any shading affecting your installation, like trees and neighbouring buildings.

During daylight hours, you’ll be generating electricity even on cloudy days, but if you’re using more power around your home than your panels are generating, or during the evening when your panels are not generating any electricity, you’ll have to buy electricity from an energy provider.

OngoPhotograph by Richard Walker/ImageNorth

Loft insulation

Up to 25% of a home’s heat can be lost though an uninsulated loft.  Loft insulation will trap heat in your home, making you feel warmer and reducing heat loss and your heating bills.  It’s like putting a woolly hat on your head on cold winter days.  We will ensure any existing insulation is laid correctly and add additional insulation if required.

Read a handy loft insulation guide by the Energy Saving Trust here

OngoPhotograph by Richard Walker/ImageNorth

External wall insulation

External wall insulation involves the installation of an insulating layer to the external fabric of a building and is usually finished with a render coat. That means it could transform the look as well as the energy performance of your home. It’s almost like putting your coat on.

Find some information on insulating solid walls from the Energy Saving Trust

Insulation

Cavity wall insulation

Like external wall insultation, cavity wall insulation focuses on reducing the amount of heat lost through the walls of your home. Rather than focusing on outside though, the focus is on injecting insultation materials inside the walls. It’s almost like putting some thermals on under your clothes. This is a two-part process with minimum disruption.

Here’s more information about installing cavity wall insulation

OngoPhotograph by Richard Walker/ImageNorth

Draught-proofing and improving air circulation

Making your home airtight through draught-proofing is one of the most effective energy saving measures. Draughts can occur in places such as windows, doors, floorboards and skirting, loft hatches and pipework.

We’ll also ensure your home has air circulating in the right way to ensure effective airflow around your home. With minimal energy use, this will prevent condensation, damp and mould and improve air quality. 

Work will involve:

  • Extractor fans to kitchens, bathrooms and WC’s
  • Undercuts to internal doors
  • Trickle vents to windows
  • Ventilation to roof eves.

Here’s some information on draught-proofing from Energy Saving Trust

Window

Double glazing, if you need it

We’re confident that most homes within this project have adequate double glazing, however if our survey reveals improving your windows would give you greater draft proofing and a warmer home, then this will be included in the works to your home.

OngoPhotograph by Richard Walker/ImageNorth

Air Source Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are not a new technology, and millions are already heating homes very effectively across Europe. They are particularly common in the colder Nordic countries and in France and Italy.

An Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) is an external unit that converts air from outside the house into heat. It acts almost like a refrigerator in reverse. The heat from the air is extracted and circulated into your house providing an efficient alternative to more traditional heating systems. We’ll ensure anybody having their heating changed to a heat pump will be fully supported in understanding how to use the heat pump and how it differs from your existing heating system.

Find more information here from us at Ongo, and here, from the Energy Saving Trust.

The process

Step 1 – survey

The first step in the process is to carry out a survey. During that survey, we’ll look at the energy performance of your home and figure out how we could help boost it. Depending on the size of your home, a survey will take approximately 1-2 hours. All we need from you is to let us in for the appointment.

Step 3 – scheduling works

Once we’ve identified the suitable measures that work for you and your home, we and our contractors will talk you through the process and timescales before any works begin. With this project, we’re moving at pace – the funding is only available for a limited period – so you won’t be waiting for long.

Step 5 – aftercare

We want you to be happy with the end result and familiar with how to use any new energy saving measures in your home effectively. So, we’ll be in touch with you to ensure you’re happy with everything and you’re getting the most out of your new, more energy efficient home.

Step 2 – planning

The next step is for us to design a solution that works for you. This could be one measure or a range of measures. We’ll plan how we do that at a time and in a way that works for you. That may include the need to apply for planning permission for some measures and maybe an additional survey specific to each measure.

Step 4 – carry out of works

How long the work in your home could take depends on what measures are agreed. What we can guarantee is the work will be done by an approved contractor, experienced in energy efficiency technology, and they’ll be fully checked.

Want to discuss these works?

Please use this form to get in touch if you would like to discuss anything in relation to these works in your home.

FAQs

No, we’re committed to improving the thermal insulation of our properties.  We received government funding to complete these works and it’s essential that any home rated below EPC C is upgraded by 2030.  Although we know the works will be disruptive for a short period of time, the benefits you will experience once completed will be well worth it.

Equans will be the main contractor delivering the works but a number of smaller contractors will be supporting them. You will have a dedicated Tenant Liaison Officer throughout the duration of the works and you will be given their contact details as part of the initial contact Equans have with you. There may be more than one tradesperson working in your home at any one time, but they will always carry identification, so don’t be afraid to ask them for it.

 

As an approximate guide:

  • Initial survey: One-two hours
  • Solar panels: Two days
  • Air source heat pump: Three days
  • Loft insulation: One day
  • Window installation: One day
  • External /cavity wall insulation: up to three weeks
  • Draft proofing and ventilation: Two days

For some works, we will need the gain access to the inside of your home, and a person aged 18+ will need to be present.

Scaffolding will be present throughout the works, but we will remove it as soon as we can. Depending on the works schedule assigned to your home, they could take anywhere from one week to six weeks.

Equans will have a dedicated Tenant Liaison Officer (TLO) assigned to you who will help and support you throughout the works. They will be your single point of contact once works to your home start. We will tailor our approach based on your personal needs as we appreciate everyone is different. If you don’t have any family or friends to support you to move furniture and other items, the TLO will be able to discuss what help and support we can offer.

Both Equans and Ongo will be on hand to explain to you all the new features of your home and we will continue to contact you until we know you are satisfied. Solar panel and heat pumps are new features, and we appreciate they may take a little time to get used to.

 

The installation of solar panels should during daylight hours generate electricity even on cloudy days.  If you’re using more power around your home than your panels are generating, or during the evening when your panels are not generating any electricity, you’ll have to buy electricity from an energy provider. However, over the whole year, you should expect to reduce the amount of electricity you buy from an energy supply.  If you don’t, then Ongo is on hand to help review your consumption and energy tariff. If you have a heat pump, we’ll check how that is being used to ensure it’s not adding to excessive electric usage. You can look at ways you can lower your energy consumption here.

Solar Panels: Scaffolding will be needed. The contractor will put the scaffolding up a number of days before you solar panels are installed, to make sure everything is ready for the work to begin. The scaffold will remain up if you’re having external wall insulation fitted or ventilation installed to your roof space.

Unfortunately, scaffolding may prevent signal to your satellite dish and affect access to parking and/or garden.  We will try to keep the number of days that it is up to a minimum and we apologies for any inconvenience caused.

We will need inside access to your loft to connect the solar panels to your electricity supply and to install an inverter and other equipment in the loft space.  We will let you know if items in your loft space need moving to allow us to do this.

Air Source Heat Pump: You will be without heating and hot water for three-four days, though the works can take up to five days in total.  We can provide you with temporary heaters, or you may wish to stay with family or friends. Please clear areas where work will happen, such as around heaters, hot water tank cupboards and where new radiators and hot water cylinder will be installed.  Please take down pictures, ornaments or anything that could get damaged.  We may need to lift the flooring on your first floor to install pipework, so please keep these floor spaces clear.

After the install, we may need to carry out some joinery work such as boxing in of pipes.  This will be carried out on subsequent days.

Loft insulation: Any items in the loft will need to be removed to install insulation.

External Wall or Cavity Wall insulation: No access inside your home will be required but there will be noise created whilst the works are completed from drilling and hammering for example. You will also have to remove any items from around your home such as benches and flower pots.

There will be some disturbance to your decoration. Your Tenant Liaison Officer will ensure you receive any grants available to you. You can find our compensation policy here.

With any works of this nature, there is always some mess that occurs. This will be minimised wherever possible.

If for some reason, your floor coverings  are damaged during the works, you’ll be entitled to compensation for this. Take a look at our compensation policy, here.

We will always try to keep any damage to a minimum but sometimes accidents do occur.  If they do, we will compensate you accordingly.  For more information, take a look at our compensation policy.

Having energy efficiency work done will not affect your rent or service charges. Rent increases are set by the government each year and are not affected by having work done on your home.

This depends on what has been fitted, however many common types of energy efficient improvements will keep your home cooler in extreme heat.

Insulation stops heat being transferred from one place to another, so it will stop heat from the sun warming your house as much. However, it will also keep heat generated in the home trapped in.

If you want to keep your home cool you will need to do things to reduce the build up of heat inside your home such as:

  • Closing curtains and blinds, especially when the sun is directly on a window.
  • Opening windows at cooler times of day.
  • Using LED rather than traditional light bulbs; they create less heat as well as saving energy.
  • Turning off electrical appliances if they’re not in use.
  • Reduce the amount of cooking you do in the heat by choosing options like salad or sandwiches.

All homes need to be well ventilated to prevent damp and mould.  Although tailored to each property, we’ll be looking to install a variety of ventilation approaches to ensure your home is not at risk of damp and mould. These measures will include:-

  • Extract fans to kitchens, bathrooms, and WCs
  • Door undercuts to all internal doors, which is a gap of about 8mm at the bottom of your door
  • Trickle vents to all windows
  • Ventilation to roof eaves.