Sheffield council residents with poor energy efficiency could get solar panels in next three years

Over the next three years 5,257 council homes could see their roofs “rented out” to improve energy efficiency

A Sheffield councillor has explained "innovative" new plans to improve the energy efficiency of council homes, and what it means for tenants.

Councillor Johnson said renting out roofs for solar panels was a "creative way" of getting investment into council houses | Unsplash/Iconic Media

placeholder image — Councillor Johnson said renting out roofs for solar panels was a "creative way" of getting investment into council houses | Unsplash/Iconic Media

As part of the Government's social housing reform, by April 2030 every council home will need to reach an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C.

Residents of homes with a lower rating of E, F or G might experience colder homes in the winter and higher energy bills.

Sheffield City Council estimates there are projected to be 9,852 council homes requiring improvements to achieve a C rating before the deadline.

At recent council committee meetings, plans were revealed about how to upgrade the councils housing stock, of almost 38,000 homes in total.

These include upgrades to insulation in 4,001 homes, and up to 5,257 homes “renting out roof space” for solar panels and batteries.

Sheffield Town Hall has a C rating for energy efficiency | Gov.uk

The approach would see businesses investing to put solar panels on household roofs, a service that Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the housing policy committee, says already exists in the private sector.

He said: “The technology is there. We could put more solar panels on roofs if we had loads of money. But, of course, we don't have loads of money, at least not without taking away from other essential stuff.

“This is a creative way of looking at how we can leverage all their external investment into council housing, without the council actually spending its own money.”

Around 200 council homes in Sheffield already have solar panels, and on October 19 the finance and performance policy committee approved funding for 212 more to get both panels and battery storage, at a cost of £1.67m.

£1m is set to come from the Sheffield climate investment bonds, with the remaining £671,500 from the councils housing revenue account.

Coun Johnson explained that because of capacity issues in the "creaky" national electricity grid, it's most efficient to use power on-site, which the batteries make possible.

Sheffield City Council is aiming to be a net zero city by 2030, making solar panels and batteries even more important | Sheffield City Council

“You can generate power in the daytime and use it at night when you need more power. That means you don't have to have a big flow of energy going into the grid or out again," he said.

As well as bringing up EPC bands to meet the 2030 target, Coun Johnson said core aims were to benefit tenants electricity bills, and to decarbonise and move closer to the city's net zero targets.

“Electricity is still much more expensive than gas. Solar panels provide a ready supply of electricity," he said.

“It's foundational to install solar panels because you can mitigate some of those risks of higher electricity costs, by generating your own electricity.

"One of the biggest emissions from all the council estate by far, is from council housing domestic boilers.

“Sheffield is pushing at some more new innovative boundaries of funding models for solar panels. This concept of ‘energy as a service’ and the market is early and developing rapidly."

He also hopes the initiative could increase jobs and skills in that sector to fit solar panels to a good quality.

What can council housing tenants expect?

With only three years to improve EPC ratings, Coun Johnson said tenants can expect to be contacted if their house is suitable.

He said information from council house condition surveys from last year should identify homes with a low EPC and where the panels are possible.

The proposals include a “tenant liaison officer” to talk to residents and help them understand the offer and how they benefit.

Coun Johnson said: “We appreciate that if you're doing solar panels on housing, that necessarily involves people coming and working on your house, and people always find that stressful.

“But it's good to encourage that take up, really, because actually it's a really good offer for tenants.

“The people who are being offered that are the people who are in colder homes. They're the ones who stand to benefit most from it.”