Unlocking £2.8m for Better Homes: Fairhive’s Funding Success with Sava.
Fairhive own and manage social homes. Their strategic objectives include investing in homes and reducing environmental impact, and improving sustainability. Fairhive are focused on improving energy efficiency and thermal comfort for their residents, targeting properties with an EPC rating of D and below. In this case study, find out how Sava Intelligent Energy – Sava Technology’s energy and carbon calculation software – helped Fairhive to achieve their goals and secure funding to support their journey to net zero.
What did Fairhive want to achieve?
With approximately 20% of their housing stock rated EPC band D and below, Fairhive were keen to apply for funding through Wave 2 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (now the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund) in November 2022, with an aim to achieve the target of all homes to EPC band C by 2030.
Data was their biggest challenge. Whilst Fairhive had EPCs for most properties, they were unable to determine what measures would be required to achieve their target, and the level of impact those measures would have.
Their ultimate aim was to collaborate with Sava to develop a targeted improvement plan for their housing stock, starting with the 20% rated EPC band D or below, and outlining the measures needed to reach band C or higher to support their funding bid.
The Results
Sava worked closely with Fairhive to deploy its energy and carbon calculation software, Sava Intelligent Energy, providing advice and guidance on the data needed to produce the best baseline dataset for the housing stock. This included property data, stock condition information and EPC data.
With this dataset, Fairhive were able to use Sava Intelligent Energy to model various improvement scenarios to create plans of work for both Warm Homes funding and other projects. Their Wave 2 application was successful and Fairhive were granted £2.8 million in funding to improve residents’ homes.
What’s next?
Laura Allen, Strategic Asset Manager at Fairhive, said: “We are continuing to work with Sava to improve the data we hold in readiness for future projects. We have provided energy data XMLs to upload EPC information and Sava has helped with data retrieval directly from Elmhurst, the accreditation scheme where we have Energy Performance Reports (EPRs) being carried out as part of retrofit assessments.”
What were the benefits of working with Sava?
When asked how Fairhive found their experience with Sava, Laura said:
“Using Sava Intelligent Energy has enabled us to plan multiple scenarios and model specific measures on various property types. The reports and outputs help us to build programmes and give us visibility of the incremental improvements.”
“We are continuing to work with Sava to improve the data we hold in readiness for future projects….Sava Intelligent Energy will be a vital tool in Fairhive’s journey towards Net Zero Carbon.”
“We are now using Sava Intelligent Energy to support our longer term EPC targets. The software is also helpful for assessing the impact of the recent update to RdSAP calculations (RdSAP 10). Sava Intelligent Energy will be a vital tool in Fairhive’s journey towards Net Zero Carbon.”
Sava’s Technology Consultant, Gareth Richardson, also commented:
“We’re proud to have worked alongside Fairhive to help them gain access to and visibility of their energy data. Working collaboratively, we have been able to provide salient insights into their stock’s energy performance so they can confidently model the improvements required to meet their long-term targets. This accomplishment will help to deliver lower fuel bills, reduced carbon emissions, and progress towards net zero.”
Since preparing this case study, Fairhive’s Wave 3 funding application has also been successful, and they were awarded £5.9 in grant funding.
How can Sava help your organisation?
If you would like to find out more about how Sava can help analyse housing stock data, assist with zero carbon goals or provide strategic advice, please contact us at technology@sava.co.uk.