Structherm helps housing trust cut energy bills for residents

Hanson Structherm has been working with housing trust City West in Salford, Greater Manchester, to train in-house operatives to install its external wall insulation system (EWI).

The EWI system is an efficient and cost-effective way of improving the thermal efficiency of a building, reducing both CO₂ emissions and energy bills. One of the first City West’ residents to see the benefits is Harriet Reed-Goodehall, who has lived in Worsley for 17 months.

“I used to spend £40 a week on heating in cold weather, but since this work was done I’m paying around £20,” said Harriett.

“I can turn the heating off before we go to bed and the house is still warm in the morning.”

The EWI system involves cladding a building with insulation boards and applying a layer of basecoat render. A decorative finish can mirror the original appearance of the building or enhance its appearance. The system uses 90mm thick Enhanced Polystyrene, which cuts energy bills and reduces carbon emissions from 1,419kg to 964kg a year.

Garry Vaughan, Supply and Sustainability Manager at City West, said: “We are committed to tackling fuel poverty and cutting carbon emissions and this insulation programme is part of our wider green agenda. We are now working to identify more properties that can benefit from this work.”

Hanson Structherm’s technical manager, Ben Edmondson said: “Our EWI system is perfect for this programme. We have trained six operatives to install the systems and they will pass on their skills to a further six through City West’s ‘train the trainer’ scheme.”