Posted on 23 November 2023
Chichester Councillors tour Hyde’s South East New Energy project
Chichester District Council members recently joined our Chief Operating Officer, Neal Ackcral, for a tour of the newly completed South East New Energy (SENE) project.
Hyde has completed energy improvements to 46 homes in Kent, using innovative retrofit technologies. Some of the homes have been upgraded from electric storage heaters to modern heating systems.
Neal Ackcral, our Chief Operating Officer, said: “It was a great opportunity to showcase our completed retrofit project to the Chichester Council members and give them some insight into our upcoming project in their area, as we’ll be carrying out similar retrofits to 950 of our homes in Chichester, starting in the new year.”
Using low maintenance equipment, the project involved installing low-carbon technologies, such as Solar PV and air source heat pumps as well as ‘fabric first’ measures, including insulation in lofts, roofs, and under floors as well as ventilation measures and LED lights.
Speaking during the visit, David Betts, Councillor and Cabinet Member for Housing, commented that the changes to the comfort and costs of heating the homes were ‘phenomenal’.
The project feeds into our Energy and Sustainability Strategy and commitment to providing safe, decent and energy-efficient homes.
Hyde customers, Barry and Anne Rayment, who’ve lived in their home for more than 30 years, said: “The whole house is much warmer now. We had no inconvenience during the work. The controls are easy to use and understand and the energy bill has gone down. It was £250 a month and now it’s £150 a month! We love living in our home and we’re happy with the service from Hyde.”
Luke Driscoll, our Director of Asset Management and Sustainability said: “We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved in Kent. The retrofits carried out will improve our customers’ comfort, reduce energy usage and save money on energy bills and that’s really important for our customers.”
Hyde is a delivery partner for the South East New Energy (SENE) Project, a collaborative research project led by the University of East London (UEL), to help customers better understand and move towards reducing carbon emissions. The project was set up to build a stronger local energy economy and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy in the south east of England.