Northampton: Improved insulation for council homes to cut bills

Aaliye Galloway said the improvements were already saving her about £75 per month

Council homes have been fitted with improved insulation, double glazing and solar panels in a bid to reduce household bills.

So far 150 homes in the Kingsley and Kingsthorpe areas of Northampton have been retrofitted - and work is due to start on 400 more later this year.

Aaliye Galloway, who lives in Kingsley, said the improvements were already saving her about £75 per month.

"It's had a massive positive effect with reducing bills," she said.

"Now we've got no gas and just electricity we've seen a massive reduction in the cost of actually running the system.

"We're actually saving and not spending more so it's had a positive outcome."

The improvements to council properties were reducing energy costs by 50%, Northampton Partnership Homes said

It costs about £50,000 to upgrade each property.

Laura Elliott, project manager at Northampton Partnership Homes, said: "What we're doing is essentially super-insulating the walls by putting in about 180mm (7in) of insulation, we are adding high performance windows and doors and topping up loft insulation to 400mm (16in)."

Windows have been replaced in some properties as part of the project

Paul Tucker, sustainability manager at Northampton Partnership Homes, said due to the increase in energy prices the improvements were "saving more than we ever anticipated".

"When we started this programme we modelled that the energy costs savings would be about 50%," he said.

"In that time, the cost of energy has gone up by about 50%.

"If residents were paying energy prices today for an uninsulated home their energy costs would be much higher."