1

HECA Data Report

For

Chiltern District

Council

Prepared by the United Sustainable Energy Agency

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HECA data report for Chiltern District Council

Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Objectives and reporting methodology. ............................................................................................ 3

Section 1 – Background Data ............................................................................................................. 4

Energy , CO2 and Insulation data ................................................................................................. 4

Domestic energy consumption ................................................................................................... 4

Carbon emissions ......................................................................................................................... 5

Housing energy efficiency ........................................................................................................... 5

Hard to Treat Homes ................................................................................................................... 8

Renewables................................................................................................................................... 9

Demographic data .......................................................................................................................... 10

Increasing population ................................................................................................................. 10

Ageing Population ...................................................................................................................... 10

Fuel poverty and deprivation .................................................................................................... 11

Benefits ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Overall Assessment of Background Data ................................................................................... 12

Section 2 – Mapped Data ................................................................................................................. 14

Energy and insulation maps ......................................................................................................... 14

Demographic maps ........................................................................................................................ 26

Section 3 - Overall Assessment of Mapped Data ......................................................................... 34

Section 4 – Analysis and Recommendations ................................................................................ 36

Local energy efficiency ambitions ................................................................................................ 36

Links to financial assistance ......................................................................................................... 37

Area based approaches ................................................................................................................ 38

Section 5 – Additional Information ................................................................................................... 40

Acronyms ......................................................................................................................................... 40

Information about mapping techniques used in this report ...................................................... 40

Data Health Warning ..................................................................................................................... 40

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Introduction This report has been compiled by USEA for Chiltern District Council. It has been produced in order to

aid the interpretation of information needed for the production of the Council’s first HECA report.

This report is required as per the ‘Guidance to English Energy Conservation Authorities (ECA’s)

pursuant to the Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) 1995’ issued by the Department of Energy

and Climate Change (DECC) in July 2012.

Objectives and reporting methodology. The purpose of this report is twofold. Data has been compiled, analysed and displayed in order that

Chiltern District Council has easy access to information. This information can be used to 1) formulate

its ambitions and priorities with respect to energy saving in the domestic sector, and 2) to enable

activity to be targeted and planned.

1. Formulate ambitions / priorities with respect to energy saving in the domestic sector.

Information can be used to enable the council to:

o Set a realistic residential energy saving or related emissions target.

o Identify the most efficient way to achieve the biggest reduction in energy

consumption – which measures will take precedence given knowledge of measures

already installed etc.

2. Target and plan activity:

o Identify which areas would warrant further action to tackle fuel poverty and what

the focus would be in terms of measures.

o Refine whether an area based approach is viable, and if so, where would it take

place and which measures would it prioritise.

o Outline which measures (or mix of measures) would enable the council to meet its

overall targets and would these be compatible with the Energy Company Obligation

(ECO) / Green Deal etc

The HECA data reporting service involves obtaining, analysing and interpreting datasets relating to

energy consumption and socio-economic factors for Chiltern District Council. The data used in this

report has come from a variety of sources. This report is NOT intended as a definitive resource for

targeting measures but instead should complement local knowledge and resources and should be

treated as the first step in identifying future actions.

The datasets used in the production of this report include:

Gas and electricity consumption data at the middle and lower level super output areas

Fuel poverty data

Benefits data and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

CO2 emissions by Local Authority area

Cavity wall and loft insulation installed under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target

Off-gas and solid wall data from the Centre for Sustainable Energy

Domestic Photo Voltaic installations under Feed in Tariff (FiTs) scheme

Census data (2011) and other Office of National Statistics (ONS) data.

Insulation data from the Energy Saving Trust’s Home Energy Efficiency Database (HEED3)

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Section 1 – Background Data This section summarises important background data which cannot be mapped. This information is

likely to have some relevance in informing the development of future policies, plans and actions with

respect to the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

Information is presented in table form with some graphs were appropriate.

Energy, CO2 and Insulation data

Domestic energy consumption

Average domestic gas and electricity consumption for Chiltern

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Average Domestic gas kWh 24,914 24,058 23,673 23,014 21,277 21,050

Average Domestic electricity kWh 5,667 5,577 5,533 5,242 5,205 5,255 http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/local_auth/interactive/domestic_ge/index.html

Figure 1 – Domestic Energy Consumption in Chiltern in kWh

Domestic energy consumption has fallen mainly due to a 15.5% drop in gas consumption. This is in

line with the average for England of a 20% fall. Electricity use only fell by 7.3 %; this fall is also in line

with the average fall in electricity consumption in England of 9.8%. In 2010 gas consumption in

Chiltern was significantly higher than the English average of 15,156kWh, average household

electricity consumption in the district was also considerably higher than the English average of 4,148

kWh. The district does not have a large number of solid wall or off gas properties that would

normally explain such high energy consumption. It is therefore likely that the high consumption is

due to a combination of affluence and low levels of insulation. In 2010 electricity consumption

actually rose after consistently falling for the previous 5 years.

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5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Average domestic gaskWh

Average domesticelectricity kWh

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Carbon emissions

Domestic CO2 emissions for Chiltern District

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Emissions domestic electricity kt CO2

111.3 116.1 116.2 109.7 99.1 102.6

Emissions domestic gas kt CO2

151.9 147.5 142.2 147.6 133.3 149.2

Emissions other domestic fuel kt CO2

9.2 9.4 8.8 9.1 9.1 9.9

Total domestic emissions kt CO2

272.4 273 267.2 266.4 241.5 261.7

Domestic emissions per capita t CO2

3 3 2.9 2.9 2.7 2.9

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/local_auth/co2_las/co2_las.aspx

Figure 2 - Domestic CO2 emissions for Chiltern District in kilo tonnes of CO2

Domestic CO2 emissions barely fell between 2005 and 2010. Emissions in 2010 were actually higher

than for 2009. A revision of the gas consumption conversion factors is probably the reason why

emissions from domestic gas use actually rose. Chiltern is unusual in having such a large differential

between emissions from gas and electricity use.

Housing energy efficiency

The following data sets have been drawn from the Energy Saving Trust’s Home Energy Efficiency

Database (HEED3) and cover the period from the beginning of EEC (Energy Efficiency Commitment)

2005 – 2008 to the present day; notionally the end of CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target)

2008 – 2012. There is data from 19,081 properties in Chiltern District which is about 50% of the total

stock in the district.

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2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Emissions domesticelectricity kt CO2

Emissions domestic gas ktCO2

Emissions other domesticfuel kt CO2

Total domestic emissionskt CO2

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Loft insulation in Chiltern District

Measure Data Source

No loft insulation 145 HEED 3 Online database EST

Up to 100mm 873

From 100 to 200mm 942

Over 200mm 4,398

Unknown 12.723

Cavity wall insulation in Chiltern District

Measure Data Source

Cavity Wall Unfilled 625 HEED 3 Online database EST

Cavity Wall Filled 7,871

Solid Wall Uninsulated 840

Solid Wall – Externally Insulated 13

Solid Wall – built Insulated 28

Unknown 9,704

Heating System in Chiltern District

Measure Data Source

Non-Condensing Regular Boiler 2,619 HEED 3 Online database EST

Condensing Regular Boiler 2,542

Non-Condensing Combi Boiler 225

Condensing Combi Boiler 17

Back Boiler 93

Electric Storage Heaters 125

Heat Pump 2

Warm Air 126

Community Heating 1

Unknown 13,188

Heating Fuel in Chiltern District

Measure Data Source

Gas 11,548 HEED 3 Online database EST

Electricity 439

Oil 287

Solid Fuel 55

LPG 90

Biomass 30

Unknown 6,632

Summary of insulation measures for Chiltern District from HEED

Measure Data Source

Loft Insulation (over 250mm) 4,253 HEED 3 Online database

Total CERT Loft insulation 3,245

Cavity wall insulation 7,871

Total CERT Cavity Wall 2,982

Replacement condensing boiler 2,559

Number of homes treated with CERT insulation measures

5,135 13.5% of housing stock

CERT funded measures began on 1 April 2008

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Cavity wall and loft insulation in Chiltern District compared to the GB average

Measure 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

Cavity walls insulated per 10,000 properties

Chiltern 217 430 596 783

GB 200 394 554 732

Lofts insulated per 10,000 properties

Chiltern 222 418 622 852

GB 258 485 704 1005 http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/local_auth/interactive/insulation/index.html

Figure 3 - Cavity and loft insulation per 10,000 properties in Chiltern District compared to GB average

Chiltern has slightly less than the national average for the proportion of properties receiving a CERT

funded insulation measure between 2008 and 2012. On average 14.7% of the housing stock received

an insulation measure during this period. The proportion of lofts insulated was significantly lower

than the national average, although the rate of installations was increasing.

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1,200

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

Chiltern cavity

GB cavity

Chiltern loft

GB loft

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Hard to Treat Homes

Extensive analysis was carried out by the Centre for Sustainable Energy in 2006 on identifying hard

to treat properties. According to this analysis the district has only two wards where there is a

combination of a high proportion of solid wall and off-gas properties, these are highlighted in yellow

in the table below. The following wards have a high proportion of solid wall properties (over30%)

Austenwood, Cholesbury The Lee and Bellingdon, Newtown, St Mary’s and Waterside. The following

wards have a high proportion (over 30%) of off-gas properties, Ashley Green Latimer and Cherries,

Bellinger South Heath and Chartridge and Cholesbury The Ley and Bellingdon.

Ward Name

Total households

No Solid Walled

No Off Gas

Solid wall %

Off gas %

Index HTT

Amersham-on-the-Hill 2,077 209 128.80 10.1% 6.2% 0.00624 Amersham Common 1,033 235 20.00 22.7% 1.9% 0.00440 Amersham Town 2,016 448 121.18 22.2% 6.0% 0.01336 Asheridge Vale and Lowndes 1,822 273 60.25 15.0% 3.3% 0.00495 Ashley Green Latimer and Chenies 768 129 391.67 16.8% 51.0% 0.08566 Austenwood 787 267 0.00 33.9% 0.0% 0.00000 Ballinger South Heath and Chartridge 887 230 577.29 25.9% 65.1% 0.16876 Central 1,742 171 36.77 9.8% 2.1% 0.00207 Chalfont Common 1,505 68 29.57 4.5% 2.0% 0.00089 Chalfont St Giles 2,849 505 126.31 17.7% 4.4% 0.00786 Chesham Bois and Weedon Hill 1,933 508 114.68 26.3% 5.9% 0.01559 Cholesbury The Lee and Bellingdon 909 430 846.35 47.3% 93.1% 0.44045 Gold Hill 878 195 12.27 22.2% 1.4% 0.00310 Great Missenden 1,019 195 87.90 19.1% 8.6% 0.01651 Hilltop and Townsend 1,949 494 106.16 25.3% 5.4% 0.01381 Holmer Green 1,649 142 171.48 8.6% 10.4% 0.00895 Little Chalfont 2,013 69 30.47 3.4% 1.5% 0.00052 Little Missenden 936 230 29.83 24.6% 3.2% 0.00783 Newtown 949 463 0.00 48.8% 0.0% 0.00000 Penn and Coleshill 1,774 492 67.96 27.7% 3.8% 0.01062 Prestwood and Heath End 2,670 339 135.85 12.7% 5.1% 0.00646 Ridgeway 1,026 0 28.95 0.0% 2.8% 0.00000 Seer Green 892 43 47.00 4.8% 5.3% 0.00254 St Mary`s and Waterside 2,183 803 107.14 36.8% 4.9% 0.01805 Vale 807 123 15.56 15.2% 1.9% 0.00294

TOTAL 37,073 7,061 3,293.44 19% 9% 0.01692

http://www.ruralfuelpoverty.org.uk/rural2.php?mopt=1&pid=data_quick

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Renewables

Renewables installations in Chiltern District

Measure Data Source

Total Solar PV installations 01/04/2010 to 31/12/2012

747 Central FiTs Register OFGEM

Installed capacity 2268.28 kWh Central FiTs Register OFGEM http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/local_auth/interactive/domestic_solar/index.html

Figure 4 – PV installation per 10,000 properties in Chiltern District Compared to the GB average.

Chiltern District has experienced a much higher take-up of pv installations via the FiT than either the

national average or that neighbouring authorities. The change in the FiT rate does seem to have

affected recent installation levels in the district.

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Demographic data

Increasing population

Source: Office for National Statistics, 2008-based sub-national population projections

Figure 5 – Percentage change in population compared with England.

Ageing Population

Source - ONS mid-year estimates and 2010-based subnational population projections

Figure 6 – Percentage of the population aged 65 or over compared with England

Chiltern District’s population is increasing at a constant rate of 0.4% per year. It has a higher

proportion of its population over 65 than the national average or other Buckinghamshire councils. By

2035 over a quarter of the population will be over 65. Older people tend to require higher

temperatures for longer periods and so suffer more than most when fuel costs rise or they are

forced to use expensive heating fuels.

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Fuel poverty and deprivation

Fuel poverty in Chiltern District compared to England

Measure 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Number of fuel poor households (Chiltern)

3,396 No data 3,324 3,794 4,017

% fuel poor households (Chiltern)

9.2 No data 9.2 10.5 11.2

% Fuel poor households (England)

11.5 No data 15.6 18.4 16.4

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/local_auth/interactive/fuelpoverty/index.html

Figure 7 - Percentage of fuel poor households in Chiltern District compared to England

Levels of fuel poverty in Chiltern increased by 21% between 2006 and 2010, this is much less than

the English average and the rate for neighbouring authorities. High energy use combined with

relatively low up-take of insulation measures and low levels of fuel poverty suggest Chiltern is an

affluent area with many households able to afford to heat comparatively poorly insulated

properties.

Benefits

Benefit LSOA Claimant range (England)

LSOA Claimant range (Chiltern)

Incapacity Benefit 0 - 405 10 -125

DLA 0 - 370 0 - 105

Income Support 0 - 420 0 - 75

Jobseekers Allowance 0 - 310 5 - 50

Pension Credit 0 - 470 0 - 110

The above table indicates for each benefit type the range of claimant numbers across all lower super

output areas (smaller than ward level) for England and Chiltern. It shows that LSOAs within Chiltern

are at the very low end of the range for benefit claimants per LSOA, indicating the relative prosperity

of the district. Some LSOAs in Chiltern actually have no claimants for certain benefits.

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5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

% fuel poor households(Chiltern)

% Fuel poor households(England)

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Overall Assessment of Background Data

The background data analysed in this report shows that Chiltern District Council has the following

key characteristics in terms of future energy efficiency measures.

The district has a relatively high per capita domestic CO2 emissions rate of 2.9 tonnes.

Average domestic gas consumption fell by 15.5 % between 2005 and 2010, while average

domestic electricity consumption fell by 7.3% in the same period. Average energy

consumption in the district is significantly higher than the national average and slightly

higher than neighbouring council areas.

Data shows that take-up of cavity wall insulation measures has been similar to the national

average while loft insulation take-up has been low.

The district has a rising population, and the proportion of the population over 65 is high and

will continue to grow.

Levels of fuel poverty in the district rose by 21% between 2006 and 2010, with the rate of

increase being much lower than the national average and that of neighbouring council areas.

The borough shows a smaller and lower benefit claimant range than the national average,

reflecting the relative affluence of the district.

Two wards have a combination of a high proportion of solid wall properties and homes not

connected to the gas network. A further seven have either a high proportion of solid walls

or off-gas properties.

In terms of the council’s energy ambitions and priorities, the summary data suggests the following:

1. A renewed focus on basic insulation measures in all areas. The take-up rates to date suggest

considerable potential remains for loft and cavity wall insulation. Consideration could be

given to setting an objective to have a certain number of properties insulated by 2015, or to

increase up-take by a certain percentage. 2. Action to drive the take up of solid wall insulation in the key wards of Amersham Town,

Amersham Common, Austenwood, Ballinger South Heath and Chartridge, Chesham Bois and

Weedon Hill, Cholesbury The Lee and Bellingdon, Gold Hill, Hilltop and Townsend, Little

Missenden, Newtown, Penn and Coleshill, St Mary’s and Waterside. Consideration could be

given to setting an objective to have a certain number of solid wall properties insulated by

2015, or to increase up-take by a certain percentage. 3. Fuel Poverty in the district does not appear to have a strong correlation with solid wall areas

or high energy use and only a weak correlation off-gas areas. It may therefore be difficult to

influence fuel poverty through a programme of practical measures. Levels of fuel poverty are

low and showing little change. Targeting affordable warmth work in rural areas is advised, as

fuel poverty is primarily a rural phenomenon in Chiltern. Rural areas around Chesham do

show some link between solid walls, off-gas and fuel poverty however these areas are

sparsely populated and the actual number of households falling into all three camps would

be very small. 4. If the council wishes to influence a reduction in domestic CO2 emissions in a cost effective

way, it needs to embark on a strategy built around increasing the amount of physical energy

saving measures installed, with the focus on:

a. Increasing the up-take of standard insulation measures. Energy consumption is high

for most areas and is likely to be due to a combination of under-insulated

13

properties, larger than average properties and the relative affluence of the area with

many being able to afford to heat under-insulated homes.

b. With 90% of households having a gas connection, improving the efficiency of gas

boilers via higher replacement rates for old boilers, and where possible the

centralisation of boilers (housing association) will have a long-term downward effect

on emissions from gas.

c. Solid wall insulation measures as mentioned above and particularly to electrically

heated properties.

5. Take -up of renewables has been high. Future success here will depend upon the cost of

new technologies and to some extent the attractiveness of incentives and the cost of

alternatives. There may be potential for renewable heat technologies (heat pump / biomass

boilers) in certain off-gas areas.

6. Any awareness raising or promotional programme should have as its focus the installation of

hard measures as the best way to significantly reduce energy use over the long-term.

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Section 2 – Mapped Data

Energy and insulation maps

The following maps have been produced using LSOA level data. The HECA regulations seek Energy

Conservation Authorities to identify areas which would be suitable for an area based approach to

installing energy efficiency measures. The maps selected have been produced using data that can be

mapped down to ward level. In most cases the data is no older than 2010.

Map indicating all ward boundaries and ward names – Map 1

Solid Walls – Map 2

Off gas network – Map 3

Electricity consumption – Map 4

Economy 7 consumption – Map 5

Gas consumption – Map 6

Cavity Wall Insulation – Map 7

Loft Insulation – Map 8

Condensing Boiler – Map 9

Replacement double glazing – Map 10

PV installations – Map 11

15

Map 1

16

Map 2

The following wards have over 20% of properties with solid walls - Amersham Town, Amersham

Common, Austenwood (over 30%), Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge, Chesham Bois & Weedon

Hill, Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon (over 40%) Gold Hill, Hilltop & Townsend, Little Missenden,

Newtown (over 40%), Penn & Coleshill, St Mary’s & Waterside (over 40%).

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Map 3

Three wards stand out as having very poor access to the gas network – they are Ashley Green

Latimer & Chenies, Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge and Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon. All

other wards have gas connection rates of 90% or higher. Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge and

Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon also have a large proportion of solid wall properties.

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Map 4

Large areas of the district (wards coloured green, blue or red) have average consumption in excess

of the national average. Only wards in Amersham and Chesham had relatively low electricity

consumption.

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Map 5

Extremely high economy 7 electricity consumption per metered property is concentrated in the main

off-gas areas of Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge and Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon and also

areas to the south (Central, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont Common, Seer Green, and Penn & Coleshill)

which would indicate pockets where houses are predominately electrically heated.

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Map 6 Title

Gas consumption data is based on the average consumption per metered property in a given LSOA.

Wards where households have very high consumption (over twice the national average) are Chalfont

St Giles, Penn & Coleshill, Austenwood, Little Missenden and Chesham Bois & Weedon Hill. Only the

most populous central wards have average household gas consumption.

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Map 7

Areas with a high proportion of recently installed cavity wall insulation are clustered around

Amersham and Chesham and Little Missenden and Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge, Holmer

Green, Gold Hill and Little Chalfont. Wards with very low levels of cavity wall insulation installed

since 2005 are all to the east of the district, with very low rates in Hilltop and Townsend, Asheridge

Vale & Lowndes, Austenwood, Central and Chalfont Common.

22

Map 8

Loft insulation activity does not follow the same pattern as that for cavity wall insulation. Areas with

the lowest installation rates are Hilltop and Townsend, Asheridge Vale & Lowndes, Newtown,

Ridgeway, Amersham Common, Amersham on the Hill, Amersham Town, Penn & Coleshill, Little

Missenden, Chalfont Common.

23

Map 9

Generally the east and north of the district have the lowest rates of condensing boiler installation.

Apart from Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon and Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge these areas

have good connections to the gas network and are populous.

24

Map 10

As double glazing is not grant aided it could be a good proxy for the intention to commit resources to

fund additional measures and also a propensity to take up the Green Deal.

25

Map 11

Rate of PV installation show a marked difference between the north and south of the district with

the north have significantly more installations. This is probably because this area takes in Chesham

and most of Amersham.

26

Demographic maps

The following maps have been produced using LSOA level data. The HECA regulations seek Energy

Conservation Authorities to identify approaches to installing energy efficiency measures that will

take advantage of financial assistance and other benefits offered by central government initiatives.

Although Chiltern contains no areas earmarked as specifically deprived in terms of priority access to

ECO funding, there are wards within the district which should be a target for future action to tackle

fuel poverty. The maps selected have been produced using data that can be mapped down to ward

level. In most cases the data is no older than 2010.

1. Index of Multiple Deprivation score – Map 12

2. Benefits Summary map – wards rated according to number of benefits claimants – Map 13

3. Percentage of fuel poor households – Map 14

4. Band A Council Tax – Map 15

5. Tenure

Percentage of housing association properties – Map 16

Percentage of privately owned properties – Map 17

Percentage of privately rented properties – Map 18

27

Map 12 title

Wards with the highest levels of deprivation as defined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation are

Chalfont Common, Vale, Ridgeway, Hilltop and Townsend, Ashridge Vale & Lowndes and

Amersham-on-the-Hill.

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Map 13

The map above shows that wards coloured red and yellow have the highest concentration of

benefits claimants for the main benefits (Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support, Disability Living

Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Pension Credit) On this basis Vale and Ridgeway wards score

highly for all 5 benefits. Rural wards of Great Missenden, Gold Hill and parts of Chalfont Common

and Little Chalfont feature here but not on the IMD measure.

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Map 14

Although the average level of fuel poverty for the district is 11%, there are large predominantly rural

areas where the level of fuel poverty is higher. The north of the district as well as Penn & Coleshill

and Amersham Town, Gold Hill and Chalfont St Giles have levels of fuel poverty approaching the

national average. There is a high correlation between fuel poverty and high energy consumption.

30

Map 15

Areas in the north of the district have a slightly higher proportion of houses assessed as band A for

council tax. This measure was selected as it could serve as a proxy for low income households and

therefore more likely to be susceptible to fuel poverty. This does correspond with high fuel poverty

areas apart from those in south.

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Map 16

Housing Association properties are generally clustered in St Mary’s & Waterside, Amersham-on-the-

Hill, Ridgeway, Vale and parts of Asheridge Vale & Lowndes, Little Chalfont, Central and Prestwood

and Heath End. There is no correlation between fuel poverty and housing association tenure.

32

Map 17

Private home ownership is highest to the north and east of the district and slightly lower in the main

towns of Amersham and Chesham, central and westerly areas. In general rates of home ownership

are high. There is a good correlation between fuel poverty and private ownership especially in the

north of the district.

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Map 18

Concentrations of private rented properties are clustered close to the main towns, with the rates

highest in Amersham Town, Amersham-on-the-Hill, Amersham Common, St Mary’s and Waterside,

Hilltop & Townsend and Central. Only in St Mary’s & Waterside and parts of Hilltop & Townsend do

high rates of private renting and fuel poverty coincide.

34

Section 3 - Overall Assessment of Mapped Data

This section summarises the findings from the analysis of the mapped data in Section 2. Only key

maps are summarised here.

Solid Walls The following wards have over 20% of properties with solid walls - Amersham Town, Amersham Common, Austenwood (over 30%), Ballinger South Heath and Chartridge, Chesham Bois and Weedon Hill, Cholesbury The Lee and Bellingdon (over 40%) Gold Hill, Hilltop and Townsend, Little Missenden, Newtown (over 40%), Penn and Coleshill, St Mary’s and Waterside (over 40%).

Off gas network Three wards stand out as having very poor access to the gas network – they are Ashley Green Latimer and Chenies, Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge and Cholesbury The Lee and Bellingdon. All other wards have gas connection rates of 90% or higher. Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge and Cholesbury The Lee and Bellingdon also have a large proportion of solid wall properties

Electricity consumption

Large areas of the district have average consumption in excess of the national average. Only wards in Amersham and Chesham had relatively low electricity consumption.

Economy 7 consumption

Extremely high economy 7 electricity consumption per metered property is concentrated in the main off-gas areas of Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge and Cholesbury The Lee and Bellingdon and also areas to the south (Central, Chalfont St Giles, Chalfont Common, Seer Green, Penn and Coleshill) which would indicate pockets where houses are predominately electrically heated.

Gas consumption Gas consumption data is based on the average consumption per metered property in a given area. Wards where households have very high consumption (over twice the national average) are Chalfont St Giles, Penn & Coleshill, Austenwood, Little Missenden and Chesham Bois & Weedon Hill. Only the populous central wards have average household gas consumption.

Cavity Wall Insulation

Areas with a high proportion of recently installed cavity wall insulation are clustered around Amersham and Chesham and Little Missenden and Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge, Holmer Green, Gold Hill and Little Chalfont. Wards with very low levels of cavity wall insulation installed since 2005 are all to the east of the district, with very low rates in Hilltop and Townsend, Asheridge Vale & Lowndes, Austenwood, Central and Chalfont Common.

Loft Insulation Loft insulation activity does not follow the same pattern as that for cavity wall insulation. Areas with the lowest installation rates are Hilltop and Townsend, Asheridge Vale & Lowndes, Newtown, Ridgeway, Amersham Common, Amersham on the Hill, Amersham Town, Penn & Coleshill, Little Missenden, Chalfont Common.

Condensing Boilers Generally the east and north of the district have the lowest rates of condensing boiler installation. Apart from Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon and Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge these areas have good connections to the gas network and are populous.

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PV installations Rate of PV installation show a marked difference between the north and south of the district with the north have significantly more installations. This is probably because this area takes in Chesham and most of Amersham.

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Wards with the highest levels of deprivation as defined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation are Chalfont Common, Vale, Ridgeway, Hilltop and Townsend, Asheridge Vale & Lowndes and Amersham-on-the-Hill.

Fuel poor households

Although the average level of fuel poverty for the district is 11%, there are large predominantly rural areas where the level of fuel poverty is higher. The north of the district as well as Penn & Coleshill and Amersham Town, Gold Hill and Chalfont St Giles have levels of fuel poverty approaching the national average. There is a good correlation between fuel poverty and high energy consumption.

Band A Council Tax Areas in the north of the district have a slightly higher proportion of houses assessed as band A for council tax. This measure was selected as it could serve as a proxy for low income households and therefore more likely to be susceptible to fuel poverty. This does correspond with high fuel poverty areas apart from those in south.

Privately owned properties

Private home ownership is highest to the north and east of the district and slightly lower in the main towns of Amersham and Chesham, central and westerly areas. In general rates of home ownership are high. There is a good correlation between fuel poverty and private ownership especially in the north of the district.

Privately rented properties

Concentrations of private rented properties are clustered close to the main towns, with the rates highest in Amersham Town, Amersham-on-the-Hill, Amersham Common, St Mary’s and Waterside, Hilltop & Townsend and Central. Only in St Mary’s & Waterside and parts of Hilltop & Townsend do high rates of private renting and fuel poverty coincide.

Housing Association properties

Housing Association properties are generally clustered in St Mary’s & Waterside, Amersham-on-the-Hill, Ridgeway, Vale and parts of Asheridge Vale & Lowndes, Little Chalfont, Central and Prestwood and Heath End.

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Section 4 – Analysis and Recommendations

The analysis below as been structured to be consistent with the requirements of the Home Energy

Conservation Act 1995. We have analysed the data to work out what would be the most appropriate

ambitions and priorities for the council, what the council would need to do to take advantage of

financial assistance available and what the council would need to do to implement an areas based

approach to improving energy efficiency.

Local energy efficiency ambitions

In terms of the council’s energy ambitions and priorities, the summary data suggests the following:

1. A renewed focus on basic insulation measures in all areas. The take-up rates to date suggest

considerable potential remains for loft and cavity wall insulation. Consideration could be

given to setting an objective to have a certain number of properties insulated by 2015, or to

increase up-take by a certain percentage. 2. Action to drive the take up of solid wall insulation in the key wards of Amersham Town,

Amersham Common, Austenwood, Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge, Chesham Bois and

Weedon Hill, Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon, Gold Hill, Hilltop & Townsend, Little

Missenden, Newtown, Penn & Coleshill, St Mary’s and Waterside. Consideration could be

given to setting an objective to have a certain number of solid wall properties insulated by

2015, or to increase up-take by a certain percentage. 3. Fuel Poverty in the district has some correlation with solid wall, off-gas and high energy use

areas. It may therefore be possible to influence fuel poverty through practical measures.

Targeting affordable warmth work in rural areas is advised, as fuel poverty is a primarily a

rural phenomenon in Chiltern. Rural areas around Chesham do show some link between

solid walls, off-gas and fuel poverty however these areas are sparsely populated and the

actual number of households falling into all three camps would be very small. 4. If the council wishes to influence a reduction in domestic CO2 emissions in a cost effective

way, it needs to embark on a strategy build around increasing the amount of physical

energy saving measures installed, with the focus on:

a. Increasing the up-take of standard insulation measures. Energy consumption is high

for most areas and is likely to be due to a combination of under-insulated

properties, larger than average properties and the relative affluence of the area with

many being able to afford to heat under-insulated homes.

b. With 90% of households having a gas connection, improving the efficiency of gas

boilers via higher replacement rates for old boilers, and where possible the

centralisation of boilers (housing association) will have a long-term downward effect

on emissions from gas.

c. Solid wall insulation measures as mentioned above and particularly to electrically

heated properties.

5. Take up of renewables in the borough has been high. Future success here will depend upon

the cost of new technologies and to some extent the attractiveness of incentives and the

cost of alternatives. There may be potential for renewable heat technologies (heat pump /

biomass boilers) in certain off-gas areas.

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6. Any awareness raising or promotional programme should have as its focus the installation of

hard measures as the best way to significantly reduce energy use over the long-term.

Links to financial assistance

The key financial incentives available to fund energy efficiency are the imminent Green Deal, ECO

and renewables incentives such as FiTs and the RHI. There are other funds available such the

Department of Health, Warm Homes Healthy People fund, however these are mostly allocated on an

annual competitive basis and therefore difficult to plan for strategically. There will also be local

funds such as the council’s capital programme, grants, planned maintenance budgets and

regeneration funds.

Green Deal

As the Green Deal is in essence a financial loan mechanism for able-to-pay households, the council

should take a pro-active role in working with a Green Deal provider to plan a strategic approach

based on the insulation and heating needs of the district. The mapped data shows measures to focus

on with respect to Green Deal will relate to:

1. Standard insulation measures in areas on the gas network. There likely remains considerable

potential for more loft and cavity wall insulation to be installed against a backdrop of

average levels of installation in recent years.

2. Heating improvements via boiler up-grades in gas connected areas. The relatively low

number of recent installations suggest potential for greater up-take.

3. Solid wall insulation measures. The definite clustering of solid wall properties will help in

targeting households to take up this measure. Northerly wards have a high proportion of

private ownership, fuel poverty and hard to treat properties.

4. Considerable potential for renewable heat technology in off-gas areas.

Energy Company Obligation

Rural areas

Chiltern has a small number of hard to treat properties which could be part of any negotiations with

an ECO provider relating specifically to 15% of the Carbon Saving Communities Obligation that has to

be delivered in rural areas with town populations of less than 10,000. It may be worth considering a

county wide approach. The opportunity exists here to develop a solid wall insulation package based

around those rural wards with high numbers of solid wall or hard to treat properties. These wards

are Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge, Chesham Bois and Weedon Hill, Cholesbury The Lee &

Bellingdon, Gold Hill, Little Missenden, Penn & Coleshill. Further analysis will be needed to

determine precise numbers, locations and potential costs.

Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation

There is some correlation between fuel poverty, deprivation and solid wall / hard to treat properties

and it would be worth the council ensuring than home owners and tenants living in these areas who

meet the eligibility criteria for support under this obligation are well informed about their options.

The council could go further and work with a Green Deal provider / installer to develop a planned

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programme. As this obligation is focused in reducing heating costs, rather than CO2 emissions, there

are a broader range of allowable measures. Areas to focus on are the rural wards of Ballinger South

Heath & Chartridge, Chesham Bois & Weedon Hill, Cholesbury The Lee & Bellingdon, Gold Hill, Little

Missenden, Penn & Coleshill and the urban wards of Newtown, St Mary’s & Waterside and

Austenwood.

Renewables Incentives

With only a small number of off-gas properties in the district take-up of the renewable heat

incentive for biomass and heat pump systems will be difficult to influence. Solar thermal systems

continue to be cost effective especially when replacing electric water heating systems. Interest in

and take-up of the feed-in-tariff has been very high in the district. The council should work with

partners to help local home owners capitalise on the RHI. Wards off the gas network with a high

proportion of homeownership and a low number of solid wall properties would be potential target

areas. The council may also wish to investigate in partnership with housing associations and care

providers the possibilities of using RHI to fund CHP or centralised biomass boiler systems in certain

locations such as sheltered housing units.

Area based approaches

Solid Wall / Hard to Treat Areas

The very small number of solid wall properties which are insulated (internally or externally) make

this measure one of the most important in the suite of available measures which will yield significant

carbon savings. As mentioned above the opportunity exists to develop a solid wall insulation

package based around those rural wards with large numbers of solid wall or hard to treat properties.

These wards are Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge, Chesham Bois & Weedon Hill, Cholesbury The

Lee & Bellingdon, Gold Hill, Little Missenden, Penn & Coleshill.

In concert with this approach the council could promote or even incentivise a Green Deal solid wall

offers in these areas as well as the urban wards of Newtown, St Mary’s & Waterside, Austenwood. St

Mary’s & Waterside has relatively high levels of deprivation, benefits claimants and also has very

high levels of private rental accommodation, fuel poverty and solid wall properties. This ward could

be a good place to test an area based approach.

High Energy Use Areas

As the district has high energy use and emissions, it may be worth targeting effort on those areas

with the highest average energy use. Extremely high economy 7 electricity consumption per

metered property is concentrated in the main off-gas areas of Ballinger South Heath & Chartridge

and Cholesbury & Lee and Bellingdon and also areas to the south (Central, Chalfont St Giles,

Chalfont Common, Seer Green, Penn & Coleshill) which would indicate pockets where houses are

predominately electrically heated. Wards where households have very gas high consumption (over

twice the national average) are Chalfont St Giles, Penn & Coleshill, Austenwood, Little Missenden

and Chesham Bois & Weedon Hill. Most of these wards have many untreated solid wall properties.

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Section 5 – Additional Information

Acronyms

CERT Carbon Emissions Reduction Target

DECC Department of Energy & Climate Change

ECO Energy Company Obligation

EEC Energy Efficiency Commitment

EST Energy Saving Trust

FiTs Feed in Tariffs

GIS Geographical Information System

IMD Indices of Multiple Deprivation

HEED Home Energy Efficiency Database

LSOA Lower Super Output Area

ONS Office of National Statistics

RHI Renewable Heat Incentive

SAP Standard Assessment Procedure

Information about mapping techniques used in this report

The maps in this report were produced using ARC Map GIS software. All the data used to produce

the maps is from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Office of National Statistics or

from USEA’s own records. We have mapped data at the Lower Super Output Area level as this can be

aggregated to produce ward area maps, which will be familiar to most. In nearly all cases some

manipulation of the data was required to ensure clear maps, showing up areas with high levels of

variance. This included reducing the number of categories in each map to 5 and in some cases 3.

Doing this does result in less detail, but also makes maps easier to interpret.

Map 12 is the only map produced which amalgamates information from different data sets. In this

map take up for different benefits was overlaid to identify areas that have high take up for multiple

benefits. Scoring was based on the number of benefits with a high take up for a given area.

Data Health Warning

The data used in this report has come from a variety of sources. This study is NOT intended as a

definitive resource for targeting measures but instead should complement local knowledge and

resources. It should be treated as the first step in identifying future actions.