A group of elderly residents in Theale, near Reading, are coping with fuel poverty by generating their own electricity at their sheltered housing scheme.

Residents of the James Butcher Housing Association (JBHA) have had new, highly efficient boilers installed, together with a combined heat and power unit (CHP). The new boilers are similar to large car engines and constantly produce 15 kilo watts of electricity and 30 kilo watts of heat. Combined with a new CHP, they distribute electricity and heat to all the residents.

The JBHA team behind the installations say that the investments in the new boilers and CHP system has proved to be very successful. The system performs more efficiently at lower maintenance costs and they are able to generate their own electricity, passing on all the savings to residents.

They claim that carbon dioxide emissions will fall by 25% with the new system and that the total amount of gas used will drop by just over 5%. Support was provided by a major energy supplier and local contractors.

JBHA intend to roll out similar schemes, including those making use of solar panels together with CHP, over other of their developments. They have also received many enquiries from other housing schemes, who see the concept as a way of helping their residents beat the poverty fuel trap.

CHP systems are designed to generate heat and electricity from localised sources – such as small community power stations – and distribute the heat and power, via a pipe system, to local residents and businesses. They are becoming more and more popular as a way of reducing carbon emissions and making the generation of power more efficient. They are already very popular in many Scandinavian countries.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

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