Thousands of tenants will benefit

The City of Edinburgh Council alongside charity Changeworks will improve the energy efficiency of more than 1,000 homes in the coming year.

The new support, funded with £5m Scottish Government cash, will help to create warmer, more secure homes for thousands of people in the capital.

The funding, which specifically targets areas of fuel poverty, is only for private sector properties although many schemes cover private sector properties in mixed tenure blocks.

It will build on the successes of previous projects delivered by the City of Edinburgh Council and Changeworks, which have seen 734 homes receive energy upgrades in the last year alone.

The measures offered include external or internal wall insulation, which significantly reduces heat loss from homes, as well as renewable technologies such as solar panels and battery storage. Renewable technologies can reduce energy demand and help to lessen the impact of rising fuel costs on householders.

Making homes cheaper and easier to heat is a key priority presently, as more than 20% of households in Edinburgh are currently in fuel poverty. At the same time, installing energy upgrades will reduce the carbon footprint of homes in the city, as Edinburgh strives to reach net zero carbon by 2030.

The news comes as Challenge Poverty Week 2022 is underway to raise awareness of the injustice of poverty and inequality.

Paul Thom, Changeworks’ Technical Director, said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver another year of EES:ABS projects.

"We’ve already achieved great results working together over the past 12 years and relish the opportunity to make many more homes more energy efficient, helping to reduce fuel poverty as a result.

"These projects are hugely important to the city and play a crucial role in helping Edinburgh reach a net-zero future.”

The City of Edinburgh Council and Changeworks secured £5.1m funding from the Scottish Government’s Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES: ABS) to deliver energy efficiency projects across the city.

The EES:ABS projects seek to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions and heat loss from homes. Changeworks is the largest delivery agent of EES:ABS funding in the country and has a longstanding partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council.

Through these schemes, the City of Edinburgh Council is supporting Edinburgh residents to improve their home’s energy performance at a greatly reduced cost – or, in some cases, for free.