Aberdeen City Council installed energy efficiency measures in 148 homes over the 2023/24 period as part of the Scottish Government’s Area Based Scheme (ABS) programme.
Changeworks’ Impact Evaluation team was involved throughout the project, collecting data to evaluate how well the measures met the overall aim of the ABS programme – to support fuel poor households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. For this project measures were installed in privately owned homes.
Each property was fitted with new external and cavity wall insulation. Seventeen of the properties were of Weir Timber construction, and were funded via a ‘special project’ grant due to the complicating factors of this archetype.
What is the Area Based Scheme programme?
The Area Based Scheme (ABS) programme aims to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions by installing energy efficiency measures in homes. By doing this homes should use less energy and residents should experience improved health and wellbeing.
The ultimate aims of ABS is to reduce carbon emissions from homes and reduce the role of poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty.
We are the largest managing agent of ABS, and have been delivering these projects for local authorities across Scotland since 2013, improving the energy efficiency of homes for thousands of householders from the Borders in the south to Moray in the north.
How did we evaluate the project?
To evaluate the project, the team used:
One survey at the very start of the installation, a second survey immediately after install to gather feedback about the installation process, and a third survey 9-12 months after works were complete. The data from these surveys gives a picture of how people’s lived experiences changed over time.
Changeworks worked with a sample of households to measure the temperature and humidity in the main living spaces of the home before and after measures were installed.
A sample of households provided data from their energy supplier about how much energy they used before and after measures were installed.
Changeworks compared the EPC created before and after the measures were installed.
Key findings
Our Impact Evaluation team evaluated the installation of these measures via household surveys, monitoring the temperature and humidity of homes, analysing household energy consumption and EPC data. Key findings included:
Fuel poor households supported
- One third of households reported monthly energy bills of over £200, compared to over half before.
- There was a significant increase in those who said they now found their home more affordable the heat.
- 44% of households receiving measures were ‘extreme fuel poor’ and median energy costs were lower after the project.
Home energy efficiency ratings increased
- Energy efficiency ratings increased by 8 SAP points to 68, which is the Scottish average.
- Band C is now most the common EPC score among properties on the project.
Overall comfort of homes increased
- Householders reported their homes were warmer and drier upon completion of the project.
- Householders also reported a reduction in condensation, damp, mould and draughts.
- The number of people who ‘never’ felt too warm decreased. However, there was a small increase in those saying they ‘often’ felt too warm, suggesting that overheating could be an issue for some.
What the client said
Residents who had measures fitted in their home, said:
“The house gets up to temperature quicker, the boiler doesn’t need to be on so often. The house retains the heat better.”
“The installation has reduced our gas bill and the appearance [of the house] has improved.”
Mark Shaw, Senior Energy Officer at Aberdeen City Council, said:
“This programme has delivered the kind of meaningful, lasting change we hoped to see for households, with energy bills becoming more affordable, homes becoming warmer and drier, and energy efficiency ratings now aligning with the Scottish average.
“Changeworks has been an outstanding partner throughout, and it is particularly encouraging to see the positive effect this project has had on those in or at risk of fuel poverty, with band C now the most common EPC rating among properties on the project.”
Ian Cochran, Head of Consultancy at Changeworks said:
“The results from Aberdeen City Council’s ABS programme is a great illustration of what this funding can achieve. Improving the energy efficiency of homes is about far more than reducing bills; it is about ensuring people can live in warm, healthy homes, and this project has delivered exactly that.
“Changeworks is proud to have supported Aberdeen in delivering this programme, and results like these reaffirm just how important the Area Based Scheme programme is in tackling fuel poverty across Scotland.”
Download the full Aberdeen City Council ABS report
To read the full report, simply enter your details below.