Residents in Crathie Drive, Glasgow have cut their carbon emissions by around 1,500kg in a year by using energy saving solutions.

Crathie Drive homes use solar panels to save energy

A £18,000 grant from ScottishPower's Green Energy Trust has helped install features such as wool insulation and state-of-the-art solar panels and boilers.

When Partick Housing Association bought a difficult gap site which had been empty for 13 years they decided to build homes which were healthy, low maintenance and had a reduced impact on the environment.

Among the energy efficient features of the £1 million Crathie Drive building is a central plant room with a 800-litre tank which is pre-heated by a solar panel. Two condensing boilers boost the temperature during the periods of high demand.

Alison McKean, Head of Environment at ScottishPower and a trustee of ScottishPower's Green Energy Trust said, "We are delighted that the Trust has been able to assist with this project. The central boiler will reduce the residents' fuel bills as well as their carbon footprint."

"ScottishPower leads the way in promoting renewable energy schemes and is directly involved, through the Green Energy Trust, in funding dozens of similar projects in communities throughout the UK. The great enthusiasm with which the residents and management at Partick Housing Association have greeted this project sets a good example to people of all ages that projects like this are good for the environment and the bank balance."

Thick wool insulation in the external walls of the eight-flat building means that little heat is lost, reducing energy costs further. Having communal boilers, rather than one in each flat, also reduces gas safety checks, access problems and long-term maintenance costs. An easy-to-use thermostat enables tenants to control the temperature in different parts of the home.

Lorraine McEwan has been in Crathie Drive for six months. She was previously lived in a top-floor flat, where rheumatoid arthritis made it difficult for her to manage the stairs. She and her two sons are delighted with her ground floor flat. She said: "It's nice and cosy and the heating costs are very reasonable."

Tenant Fiona Wright lives in the development with her daughter who is asthmatic. She said, "This place is fantastic for us and it's possibly been lifesaving. My daughter has not had an asthma attack since we moved here. The fuel bills also mean I can study. The last pace we lived in cost me so much money to try to heat it, yet it was still cold and damp. I had no choice, it was that or see my daughter getting ill."

Partick Housing Association development officer Kate Waddell said, "We wanted to produce a well-insulated building that would provide tenants with low running costs. We are delighted that the ScottishPower Green Energy Trust has helped to make that happen."

Other funding came from Communities Scotland, Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative and the Lighthouse.

Sources: http://www.24dash.com

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