Heating system upgrades help tenants to save on energy bills

New air source heating systems have now been installed in properties in Burwarton and Cockshutt - and more upgrades are planned over the coming years.

John Green, chief executive of Shropshire Rural, said improving the energy-efficiency of homes was a big priority for the association.

“Even before the recent increase in utility bills, we were very aware that paying to heat their homes was a significant cost for many of our tenants,” he said.

“Some of our homes still have electric heaters, which are inefficient and expensive to run, so we are in the process of upgrading all of our properties to much more cost-effective heating systems.

“These air source heat pump heating systems are highly efficient and should result in much lower bills compared to the old electric heaters.”

Tenants Wendy and Andy Mole, who have recently had a new air source heating system at their bungalow in Cockshutt, said it had already made a big difference.

“The main thing we have noticed so far is the hot water,” they said. “With our old electric heating system the water tank was so big that we didn’t bother switching it on for the washing up, we’d boil the kettle instead.

“But the new system automatically heats the water so we have hot water available all of the time.

“We have already noticed a reduction in our electricity consumption too - we think we are using about 25% less than this time last year, which is a massive improvement.

“The team who installed it were great, very respectful and took care while working in our property. We have had lots of support from Shropshire Rural too, with people coming out to make sure the system has been set up properly - we are really happy with it.”