Labour led Exeter City Council are working to make Council homes in Exeter more energy efficient to address the climate emergency and fuel poverty. Around 300 Council houses in Exeter have now been retrofitted to reduce carbon emissions and help residents lower their fuel bills.

Retrofitting involves homes receiving external wall insulation, high performance cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, new double glazed windows and doors, solar panels, smart meters and upgraded central heating systems.

Exeter City Council video on YouTube

Cllr Laura Wright, Lead Councillor for Housing Development & Services, said the retrofit programme could not have come at a better time, with fuel bill rising rapidly for households.

“I’m delighted that we’re not only making people’s homes cosier and cheaper to run but also  forging ahead with the real hard work behind the Council’s ambition to be a net Zero city by 2030.” she added.

Eventually the Council aims to transform all of its properties in Exeter as part of its ambition to become a Net Zero Carbon City.

The work is part of a £2.4m project to help tenants save money and tackle climate change. It is being jointly funded by the Council and the government, and aims to eventually retrofit 4,000 homes.

Cllr Wright said: “For each property that has been retrofitted there will be an average reduction of 3.2 tonnes of carbon every year.

“By the end of the year we will have retrofitted about 360 – that’s a carbon reduction of 1,152 tonnes at least, and that’s an amazing figure.”

Cllr Wright added: “I am immensely proud of what we are doing. We have done it with financial modelling against out maintenance costs, which means that we don’t have to charge the tenants any money towards it. There’s no charge to our tenants – just savings for then and a more comfortable home.

Great coverage of this work on BBC Devon in their climate change section