What is Freebridge WAVE 2.1?

SHDF Wave 2.1 is a national scheme that aims to deliver warm and energy-efficient homes, while also helping reduce carbon emissions and help those living in social housing to tackle rapidly rising fuel bills and fuel poverty.

Freebridge received £1.323 million worth of funding and immediately pledged to match that from our own budget, making this piece of work worth around £2.7 million.

The project will enable Freebridge to continue to target properties that are the least energy efficient, with those meeting the criteria laid out by the Government for this funding.

99 properties have been identified to be part of this round of funding and Freebridge are working with E.on the delivery partner to roll out the improvements by March 2025.

The very first property on our list was on Alma Avenue in Terrington St Clement, so we thought we’d talk you through what this funding and work means for our customers.

In October, the process began with a Retrofit Assessment (RFA) to identify the potential improvement measures that we could undertake to improve the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of the property from a band E to a band C.

Once the recommended measures were agreed by all, further technical surveys were then carried out at the property to calculate the sizing of the Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP), radiators (along with the most appropriate locations to place them), the number of Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) panels needed and the amount of additional insulation and ventilation that would also be added.

From our side, that ensured that accurate costings were produced and then subsequently approved - at which point installation works could start to be scheduled in with the customer.

There was still one more stage to complete before installation could begin, with the customer’s electricity supply needing to be updated from a single phase to a Double Pole Isolator (DPI) – which was required to run the new equipment.

With the final hurdle cleared, it was installation time for the customer! This included existing electric storage heating being removed and the new low carbon ASHP install, along with new radiators and associated pipework being fitted.

The new radiators are sized to a larger specification than you would typically find, which is because the system runs at a lower temperature than traditional heating. By ‘oversizing’ the radiators this provides a greater surface area to dissipate heat into the house…clever stuff!

The next phase of installation saw Solar PV panels added to the roof of the property to help generate electricity to run the new ASHP and to provide electricity to the tenant when heating isn’t required.

To finish, works in the loft space were completed and further insulation was added, with a ventilation upgrade also carried out – leaving the customer with a warmer and more efficient home!

Our Energy and Sustainability Manager Steven Elmore and Heating Manager John Gladwin were both at the property to see how the progress was going and to check in with the tenant. John will also be on hand to at the handover to assist and ensure that Freebridge also have full understanding of how the new system operates.

A delighted Steve said: “It’s an exciting week for Freebridge and this marks a significant step in our Wave 2.1 project.

“The tenant expressed how pleased he has been with how smoothly and quickly everything has been completed so far.

"He told me that everyone kept him well informed throughout the process, adding that the engineers completing his installation have been polite, courteous and have been keeping things neat and tidy while they work.

“He is looking forward to a warmer and more efficient home, as he had previously only been heating one room of his property at a cost of around £8 per day.”

We have completed 40 homes to date and we are well on our way in meeting our deadline of delivering warm and energy-efficient homes 99 Homes by March 2025. If you have time do take a look at the video on this page for more information.