Fife Council installed energy efficiency measures in 318 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. Measures were installed in a mix of privately owned homes and social housing.
607 measures were installed across these properties, including:
- Cavity wall insulation
- External wall insulation
- Internal wall insulation
- Loft insulation
- Underfloor insulation
- Room in roof insulation
- Solar PV
- Battery storage
- Air source heat pumps
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 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 and analysing EPC data from before and after installation. Key findings included:
Fuel poverty
- Energy bills reduced by an average of £480 per year after the installation of energy efficiency measures.
- Households that felt “stressed” or “worried” about energy bills reduced from a third to zero.
Home energy efficiency ratings increased
- The average home energy efficiency rating of properties fitted with energy efficiency measures increased from EPC band D to C.
- Following the work, 41% of homes now have an EPC rating of Band B or higher
- The average energy efficiency rating of homes involved in the project increased by 11 SAP points.
Overall comfort of homes increased
- The proportion households who said their home “often” felt too cold went down from 35% to 7% following the works.
- Households who did not experience draughts doubled from 27% to 56% following the works.
What the client said
One resident, who had measures fitted in their home, said:
“One room was always very cold, [even] with the heating on. Now we can use this room as it stays lovely and warm. It means I can get on with my working from home better.”
Ian Dawson, Business Change Manager at Fife Council, said:
“The Area Based Scheme programme has delivered outstanding results for households across Fife, with energy bills falling by an average of £480 per year and residents reporting a significant improvement in the warmth and comfort of their homes.
“Changeworks has been an exceptional partner in delivering this work, and we are grateful for their expertise and commitment in helping us to make a real difference for our communities.”
Ian Cochran, Head of Consultancy at Changeworks said:
“The findings from Fife’s ABS programme are truly impressive, with average energy bills falling by £480 per year and the number of households feeling ‘stressed’ or ‘worried’ about their energy bills reducing to zero following installation.
“These results are a testament to the importance of the Area Based Scheme programme in tackling fuel poverty and to our excellent partnership with Fife Council.”
Download the full Fife Council ABS report
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