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• The doors have opened to a Retrofit Future

The doors have opened to a Retrofit Future

CityWest Homes officially opened the doors this week on its first ‘Retrofit for the Future’ home. Our house at 88 Lothrop Street, on the Mozart estate, Queens Park, has been fitted with the latest technology to help cut the carbon emissions of the house by 80% - which is a step forward in the mission to cut our carbon footprint.

The exciting project was part of a £10 million ‘Retrofit for the Future’ competition, launched in 2009, by the Technology Strategy Board. The competition funded building and renovation companies to retrofit and refurbish social housing with the aim of cutting carbon emissions. Number 88 Lothrop Street was allocated £150, 000 for its own eco-makeover.

Mark Hoyland, chief executive, CityWest Homes, said: “This project is a real first for CityWest Homes. Our retrofit house is equipped with innovative new technology to help reduce both carbon emissions and costs for our residents. Now that the house is ready to open its doors to a greener future, as well as a new tenant, we are really looking forward to seeing the results over the next few months.”

The house was officially opened by councillor Jonathan Glanz, cabinet member for housing and property, Mark Hoyland and ward councillor Barry Taylor. Guests were given a guided tour of the house, enabling them to see firsthand the latest in eco-home design. Highlights included the innovative energiKare Legacy vacuum double glazing, installed to achieve exceptional thermal performance. They were also shown the ‘Combined Heat and Power Unit’ which provides heat and energy to the property as well as the latest LED lighting. However, the biggest star of the show was the Wattbox.

The Wattbox controller is truly innovative in that it learns the occupants’ behaviour patterns. By memorising their patterns, it can automatically control the electricity and hot water, making it easy to use and more efficient in heat and power consumption.

Anne Debenham, project manager from Eco Alchemists who worked on the house, said: “It's important to try out a range of these newer technologies on the existing housing stock to find out what works well and what is cost effective. Now it’s a case of monitoring the technology and bringing costs down so that it is feasible to roll it out on a wider scale.”

88 Lothrop Street will be monitored over the next two years to see how successful the technology has been and if it will be possible to introduce it to more social homes in Westminster. It is an exciting opportunity to develop energy efficient homes for our residents.