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USProject details
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Willowbrook, Newport, Wales
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Number of flats: 40
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kWp per flat: 1.3
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Completed: 2024
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Grant funded: Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP)
Impact in numbers
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Average bill savings per flat
£126
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EPC post-installation
EPC B: 28 flats
EPC C: 12 flats
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Tailored SAP point increase
7
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Tonnes of CO2 saved
7.52
About the partner
Pobl Group and Linc Cymru are two of Wales’ leading Registered Social Landlords. The two organisations have a shared commitment to improving communities and providing quality housing solutions for Wales, creating the right environment for people to flourish.
The group manages more than 23,000 homes in Wales, with plans for growth to deliver more than 4,500 new homes over the next five years. The Group employs more than 3,000 people and will be a major contributor to the Welsh economy.
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Background of the project
Willowbrook is one of Linc Cymru’s later living facilities in Newport, providing safe, affordable homes for older residents.
But like many households across the UK, residents have been feeling the impact of rising energy costs. Older and pension-age residents are among the hardest hit by fuel poverty.
To address this, Linc Cymru and Pobl Group are committed to improving the energy efficiency of their housing stock. Their long-term goal is for every home to reach Net Zero by 2050.
The Welsh Government’s Optimised RetroFit Programme (ORP) is helping housing associations meet these goals by funding projects that cut carbon, reduce fuel poverty and upgrade homes with EPC ratings of D or below.
The challenges
- Technology gap: Existing PV systems typically connected only to the landlord supply, unable to deliver solar directly into flats. This meant no SAP or EPC uplift, and no direct benefits for residents.
- Missed opportunity: Even with suitable roof space, residents were unable to access the benefits of renewable energy and lower bills.
- Resident engagement: As a later living facility, minimising disruption was critical, residents were understandably cautious about works taking place in their homes.
- Access to flats: Gaining access to every flat to install or rewire would have been complex, time-consuming, and potentially unwelcome for residents.
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What we did
Securing funding & delivery
- Allume supported with feasibility studies to strengthen the funding bid and provided supply chain support through our certified installer network.
- Grant-funded through ORP Welsh funding, renewable energy measures were installed at Willowbrook, including our innovative SolShare technology.
Connecting every flat to solar
- Our SolShare technology enabled all 40 flats to connect to a single rooftop PV system, boosting SAP scores and EPC ratings., helping reduce household energy bills, freeing up income for essentials.
Smart solar allocation
- SolShare can distribute different amounts of solar to each flat based on EPC needs. This helped lift ground and top-floor flats, which often have the lowest EPC ratings, ensuring a fairer solar distribution.
Minimum disruption to residents
- The system requires minimal space and no hardware inside flats.
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Testimonial
“These are people’s homes, so just think about your parents, your grandparents, your siblings. Whatever’s done to these buildings, in this case homes, has to be right.
Innovation in this sector is critical. I can’t underplay how exciting this is regarding innovation. It’s not just about putting shiny new things on a building, but also the fact that they improve that person’s life”.
Malcolm Davies, Welsh Government
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Watch our video case study
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