New Baxi guide provides social housing framework

Social housing providers are being advised to start planning a phased approach to heat decarbonisation across their building stock, in a new guide from leading heating and hot water solutions provider Baxi.

Decarbonisation and Affordability of Heat – a phased approach is a free downloadable guide that aims to provide social housing providers with a framework for achieving net zero, particularly in harder to decarbonise social homes.

With many residents struggling with fuel bills, social housing providers face the dual challenge of solving fuel poverty while achieving their own environmental targets. Baxi’s guide recognises that only a comprehensive mix of technologies, implemented at scale within suitably prepared housing stock, will be able to face up to the net zero challenge, while maintaining maximum comfort and minimum disruption for residents. 

The four-phase approach encourages social housing providers to take a fabric-first approach within harder-to-heat homes to ensure that the buildings are as efficient as possible and suitable for the low-temperature heating prescribed by Part L of Building Regulations. As a next step, housing providers are being urged to consider accessories which will improve the energy rating of existing systems, before planning larger scale investments such as air source heat pumps and heat networks or longer-term solutions such as hydrogen boilers.

David Cook, Sales and Specification Director, Residential says, “Feedback from our customers indicates that a number of constraints can make certain social homes hard to decarbonise. In buildings like these, full decarbonisation could take some time to achieve. With that in mind, we’ve set out to support housing providers with a guide to the typical steps involved in decarbonising heat to help our customers plot their pathway to improved energy efficiency and net zero. Our goal is to provide social housing providers with the right heating solution at the right time to improve the comfort of residents while making significant carbon savings. 

“With Baxi’s expertise and support, social housing providers can prepare better by being well informed. This guide is the starting point of the net zero journey and, by partnering with Baxi, social housing providers can be assured of a smooth transition to energy efficient, low carbon heat that will tick all the sustainability boxes.”