Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund
SHDF like HUG2, this initiative is funded by the government but rather than being aimed at private residences this scheme focuses on the social housing sector. Local authorities can apply for a funding budget that is dependent on the size of their district and the efficiency of its properties judged through EPC ratings. The size of the district and the higher the number of poor performing properties will directly relate to the budget allocation they receive.
Measures include all measures previously discussed, again with an emphasis on fabric measures first and then low carbon heating systems along with potentially Solar PV should the budget allow. The major drawback of this scheme is that the SHDF fund can only be used for no more than 50% of the total cost of the upgrades. This means the local authorities have to fund the rest of the upgrades themselves, i.e. if an upgrade costs £10,000 for the property, £5,000 would be SHDF funded and the remaining £5,000 would come out of the districts annual budget.
ECO4 delivery over SHDF
Considering ECO4 can be used for social housing also, providing the EPC requirements are met, districts with small or tight budgets may well wish to opt for ECO4 delivery over SHDF as they would then not have to bare any cost for the upgrades.
