SERS shall be providing advice on how to improve energy efficiency  to customers visiting the Homebase Store on Newport Road Cardiff this Saturday. Providing information on reducing your fuel bills, keeping warm his winter and how to go about installing renewable technologies there is something for everyone.

Which not come and have a chat and see what we can recommend you on how to improve your energy efficiency.

Cardiff Newport Rd

• Avenue Retail Park, Newport Road, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, CF23 9FF

Saturday 27th October 2012 saw our Scottish office attend and exhibit at the Dumfries Energy Exhibition. Providing advice on how to reduce fuel bills and improve energy efficiency SERS discussed both insulation and renewable technologies. Held by the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre the day offered both practical advice and information on financial assistance on installing this technology.

With winter just around the corner it was an excellent opportunity for those close by to visit and get free advice on a variety of topics including how to make your home warmer and how to make money from becoming more energy efficient.

Big Energy Saving Week was held on the 22nd – 27th October this year and SERS were keen to get involved and raise the awareness of the importance of energy saving. Ran by Energy Saving Trust the week had a clear theme and set of objectives.
Theme:
‘Feeling the pinch’: helping householders manage fuel bills
Objectives:
• Connect people with sources of help
• Raise awareness of what people can do to help themselves pay their fuel bills
• Focus on helping vulnerable people and those that are perhaps not usually classified as ‘vulnerable’ but are shown to have trouble paying fuel bills
• Helping communities and people ‘prepare for winter’
• Outreach events for communities
• Provide lasting benefits and a legacy of energy saving for the future
SERS were unable to run an event in their local community specifically for this week but will continue to hold open days and carry out school visits to discuss the importance of energy saving.
As an alternative SERS decided to run a quiz internally for employees in order to test their knowledge on how much energy can be saved as a result of installing the technologies which we offer.

For more on the week visit The Energy Saving Trust website.

With one of the major utility companies raising its prices for gas and electric by 6% today for domestic customers, it’s likely all the others will follow suit in the next few months.

What impact will this have on your annual bill? It will add around £80 a year to the average dual fuel bill.

It’s essential that we shop around each year to get the best deal and many companies offer preferential rates to new customers, making it worthwhile switching.

These increases by the ‘big 6’ are becoming more and more common and it’s inevitable that they will affect all fuel bill payers.

One of the best ways to alleviate the impact these increases have is to reduce the amount of energy you require to heat your home. Many homes are so poorly insulated that heat escapes easily through the walls and roof meaning that it’s difficult to keep your home warm without having the heating constantly running.

By insulating the walls and roof you can reduce the rate at which heat escapes meaning you don’t need your heating on for as long; as the home retains its heat.

This way your fuel bills will reduce and alleviate any impact rising fuel bills will have.

SERS are pleased to announce that they shall be exhibiting at the first ever Retro Expo exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham in October.

Held from 30th Ocotber – 1st November, Retro Expo is dedicated to the low carbon refurbishment of existing buildings in the domestic, commercial and public sector markets. It will bring together thousands of professionals from across the supply chain, from Green Deal Providers, RSLs, local authorities, housing associations and blue chip occupiers and landlords to specifiers, assessors and installers. Retro Expo provides high quality educational and networking opportunities, and showcases innovative technical solutions that will make possible the retrofit of 26 million homes and 1.8 million commercial properties by 2050. The event is supported by a range of key industry bodies, is an Official Event of The Green Deal and is delivered in partnership with the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the BRE.

For a free invite please email info@sersltd.co.uk and visit us on stand A2.

For more information visit the site here.

SERS will be exhibiting and providing advice at Dumfries Energy Exhibition – come and see us to see how you can improve your energy efficiency.

With winter just around the corner you may want to make the switch to a more affordable source of heating. For example a heat pump or wood-fuelled boiler may provide a better heating solution for you. Not only is it kinder to the environment it can also make a difference to your energy costs potentially saving you hundreds of pounds each year.

There is a range of financial support available:
• Interest-free loans of up to £10,000 from the Scottish Government, with a payback of 8 years;
• Grants of up to £1,250 from the UK Government.
This could mean that your upfront costs are either mostly or even totally covered, for example, if you bought an air source heat pump for £9000 you could claim an £850 grant towards the cost of the system plus a £8,150 interest free loan!

In addition to this, you may be able to earn cash from your heating system through the UK Government’s Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria. This scheme should be available from summer 2013.

The Energy Saving Scotland advice centre is holding an Energy Exhibition on Saturday 27th October at the Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries to showcase energy efficiency and renewable technologies. There will be exhibitors showing the latest technologies to not only make your home cosier, but to provide heat and power using alternatives to traditional fuels. Come along and talk to our advisor’s between 10.30am and 3.00pm to find out more about the financial and practical support on offer.

SERS are please to be assocaited once again with the Cwmaman Music Festival

Held on the 29th – 30th  September in Aberdare the festival promises to be an excellent event for all ages.

The festival was formed for the benefit of people of all ages who enjoy live music, and to promote Cwmaman and the surrounding areas. The festival is now entering its fifth year, after a fantastic first four years with headlining acts such as Alabama 3, Killing For Company, and Madassa Soul Band, to name a few.

For tickets and details about attending please visit the offcial website here.

SERS are pleased to announce that they are one of few exhibitors to exhibit at Tutbury Eco Fair – held by Tutbury Eco Power. New for 2012, the fair has the objective of raising people’s awareness of environmental impact and to encourage people to think about choosing environmentally friendly products and therefore reducing their carbon footprint.

Held at Tutbury Institute High Street, Tutbury, DE13 9LS with the majority of the stalls being indoors the day promises to be very informative for the local community.

The event is to be held on Saturday 29^th September from 11am until 4pm. SERS will be providing information on external wall insulation and its key benefits along with internal wall insulation, replacement boilers, heat pumps, solar PV and solar thermal.

We will also be able to provide you with details of any funding which you may be eligible in relation to installing the above technologies.

Today we received a wonderful letter from Hospice of the Valleys thanking us for a donation which we made following a competition which we ran back in June.

Whilst exhibiting at an event held by the Chartered Institute of Housing in June we ran a competition which allowed attendees to enter for the chance of winning a £200 donation to the charity of their choice. An employee from Tai Calon won and chose to donate the money to the company’s charity of the year; Hospice of the Valleys.

The letter reads “the money will help with the care that we provide for patients with life threatening illnesses. This care includes full support for families and extends through treatment and if appropriate into terminal care and bereavement. The Hospice of the Valleys beings a ray of light into lives turned upside down by being diagnosed with cancer”.

We at SERS agree that Hopsice of the Valleys are a wonderful charity which deserves to be supported by all.
For more information on what they do and how you can support their works please visit their website.

To see our Mike Roberts presenting our cheque please visit the article here. 

SERS will once again be attending the Renewables road show in order to keep up to date on all things that are renewable!

The event promises to be extremely valuable and provide essential information for the next 12 months.

We will be at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on the 13 September 2012 should you wish to meet with us.

For more information on the event please visit the website here .

A recent study has found that over 22m people in the UK don’t know what an EPC certificate is. Seeing as one of these can help save you money and energy we thought it was important to explain what they are.

An EPC, or Energy Performance Certificate, is a document which is required for all homes which are bought, sold or rented. They provide an insight into the buildings energy use and also provide recommendations on how to improve energy efficiency and save money.

A trained assessor will carry out an inspection of the property and put together the EPC report. The report will categorise the property into a band; from A to G with A being the most energy efficient. It will also give a list of recommended improvements which could be made, the money which could be saved by making these improvements and the revised banding should these improvements be made.

An efficient property can be proven by its EPC certificate and can be very attractive to buyers and potential tenants.

Should you wish to get an EPC assessment carried out and energy efficiency improvements made please contact us to see how we can help.

SERS have installed a 4kWp photovoltaic system on Luctonians Sports Club as part of a mutually beneficial sponsorship deal.

Based in Herefordshire, Luctonians is a multi-sports club for all ages. With 6 pitches, and a variety of rugby and cricket teams as well as other sports, they are a community club offering excellent facilities.

In July SERS installed the 14 panel system which is expected to provide an annual output of 3,154.94kWh. As a result Luctonians are to benefit from reduced fuel bills and increased profits thanks to feed in tariff payments. They have also reduced the carbon footprint of the club.

SERS wishes all of the teams based there the best of luck for the future.

The install at Luctonians

SERS have had the pleasure today of presenting Hospice of the Valleys with a cheque for £200 to help towards all of the great work which they do. Back in June 2012 SERS ran a competition whilst exhibiting at CIH Manchester, the prize for the lucky winner was £200 to donate to a charity of their choice.

The winner was an employee from Tai Calon, Blaenau Gwent’s largest provider of social housing.  Tai Calon’s charity of the year is Hospice of the Valleys and as a result they were the charity to receive the money.

Hospice of the Valley’s provides care and support to people and their families who are suffering from cancer or a life threatening illness free of charge. From expert advice, help with medication and a bereavement service they can be there every step of the way. For more information on Hospice of the Valleys visit their website here.

SERS’ Mike Roberts handing cheque to Kevin Davidge from Hospice of the Valleys

SERS had a fantastic day exhibiting at RCT Homes’ fun day and were very pleased to have been asked to exhibit once again.

Held on July 26^th at Aberdare’s Michael Sobell Centre the turnout was fantastic and the weather was perfect for the event. It was expected that over 1000 people would visit!

All RCT Homes tenants and leaseholders were invited to join in the fun which included games, donkey rides, a petting zoo and many more activities.

SERS have installed external wall insulation onto well over 500 RCT Homes properties and it was nice to meet up with some of the tenants which have had the work carried out and are reaping the benefits.

One of the RCT properties at Penywaun

The day was free to all and RCT Homes put on free buses throughout the valleys to make it easy for visitors to get there. There was even free tea, coffee and drinks available.

SERS were asked to exhibit in order to provide information about the external wall insulation aspect of RCT Homes’ refurbishment scheme.

Are you an RCT Homes tenant who has been lucky enough to have external wall insulation installed? If so we would love to hear of the impact external wall insulation has made.

Laurie Morris (SERS) and Adrian Tattershall and Rod Keeble (RCT Homes)

Laurie Morris and Richard Davies from SERS enjoying the day!

Following last year’s success of the Welsh three peaks challenge a group of SERS employees are planning a walk which will see them climb the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge in order to raise money for SERS’ charity of the year Llamau.

Their target is to raise a massive £2,500 for Llamau who provide practical support, care and security to homeless young people.

The group will travel to the Yorkshire Dales National Park and climb to the summits of Pen – Y – Ghent, Whernside and Inglebrook. This will mean climbing a total of 1,672 metres over a distance of 25 miles – in under 12 hours!

Should you wish to donate to this great cause please send cheques made payable to Llamau to SERS Ltd, Nyddfa Yard, Fleur de Lys, Pengam, Gwent. NP12 3UZ.

We wish them the best of luck and promise that photos will soon follow.

SERS for the first time will ths year be exhibiting at The Big Cheese event in July.

Brought by Caerphilly County Council the big cheese is an event which has loads to offer and promises to be a fun family weekend. With music, food, a funfair and stalls there is something for everyone.

SERS will be providing information on energy saving solutions and advising people on how they can cut their fuel bills and become more environmentally friendly.

It is held on the 27th – 29th July and is free to enter.

Come and visit us at stall 10 in the commercial stalls section.

SERS are pleased to announce that they have been shortlisted in the INCA awards 2012. Penywaun (phase1) has been shortlisted along with 4 other projects in the Domestic Refurbishment – Low Rise (6 houses or more) category. The shortlisted entrants were announced on July 4^th with the awards ceremony taking place in early October.

Phase 1 of the Penywaun scheme took place between December 2012 and March 2011 and saw the refurbishment of 333 non-traditional properties.  A mix of BISF (91), Easiform (88) and Arcal (154) properties all had external wall insulation installed to improve their thermal performance.

Out of the 333 properties a large majority of these were RCT owned whilst a small proportion were owned privately; all works were carried out with residents in situ.

Poor weather threatened to delay works on the scheme as many of the properties were worked on during the winter months. Careful planning and programming however enabled us to deliver on time as agreed with RCT.

Two Houses in Penywaun with External Wall Insulation

May saw a film crew arrive on site in Fernhill to make a short video outlining the work which is being carried out there. The reason for the filming was that RCT Homes had been short listed for Responsible Company of the Year in Business in the Communities’ Wales Impact awards; part of the Awards for Excellence 2012. RCT chose Fernhill as one of their projects to focus on as they felt it was one of the contracts which made the most impact to the community.

Acting For the Camera

The filming took just over two hours and focussed on a variety of areas on the estate including finished houses and ones in progress. An interview was also held with a member from RCT homes, a member of Fernhill Residents Association and Richard Davies, Site Manager for SERS. To take a look at the video which also looks at two other RCT homes projects, click here.

Site Manager Richard Being Interviewed

We are pleased to say that RCT Homes won Responsible Company of the Year as announced on June 21st in Cardiff.

“The top accolade, the Welsh Government Responsible Company of the Year, went to RCT Homes, who were recognised for their work transforming lives and communities.  The company which was only established in 2008 was seen to have made significant progress on all aspects of its corporate social responsibility programme in a short time and for ‘living and breathing’ their pledge to be ‘more than a landlord’.  RCT Homes are the first social landlord to receive this prestigious Award”. BITC website.

Business in the Community are a business led charity which stands for the promotion of responsible business practice. They work alongside companies to help to integrate responsible practices and connect them with local communities, all with the aim of tackling social and environmental issues.

SERS are a member of Business in the Community and hope to enter some of their prestigious awards in the coming  years.

Some of The Properties in Fernhill

Last week it was announced that the proposed cuts which were to be made in July have been postponed until August.

DECC ( The Department for Energy and Climate Change) announced on the 24^th May that the cuts to the Feed-in tariffs for solar PV shall not go ahead in July. The new reduced rate of 16p/kWh will be paid for 4kW systems as of August 1^st.

In the meantime the extra month at the higher rate is expected to see many people take the opportunity to benefit last minute.
For more information please see DECC’s website.

There have been many changes to the Governments feed in tariff scheme in the last 6 months what with tariff reductions, appeals and extensions but the latest requirement hasn’t seemed to have so much press. We decided that we would take a look at the new requirement and look at whether its impact would be felt across the solar industry.

As of April 1^st 2012 in order to be able to benefit from full FIT payments the building in which the installation is to take place must have an Energy Performance Certificate of band D or above. Independent renewables advisor You Gen estimate that only just under half of the UK’s housing stock have an EPC certificate of band D or above meaning the market eligible for FIT’s has halved overnight.

But it’s not as bad as it sounds! If the building doesn’t have a rating of band D or above it will still receive FIT payments, they will just be a lot lower; just under half. For some buildings just installing the PV technology itself will bring its rating up to band D, although this should be checked properly as it will only apply to SOME buildings.

In fact the situation isn’t really that bad. With the Green Deal coming into force in October and much of the UK’s housing stock benefitting from grant funded insulation the energy efficiency ratings of buildings are improving daily making more and more eligible.

If you are unsure what band your building is and therefore whether you are eligible for full FIT payments please get in contact with us and we can help to arrange and EPC survey.

20th March saw just under 600 of the countries leading specialist contractors gather to celebrate the achievements of those who were chosen as finalists.

SERS were a short listed finalist in the Low Carbon category, and although we didn’t win on the night it was great to get involved and be a finalist.

Hopefully 2013 is an even more successful year - not long until we will be working on our submission!

Britain’s Biggest Climate Change Campaign – 12 to 18 March 2012

Climate Week is a supercharged national campaign to inspire a new wave of action on climate change. It culminates in thousands of events and activities, planned by organisations from every sector of society. Showcasing real, practical ways to combat climate change, the campaign aims to renew our ambition to create a more sustainable, low-carbon future.

Climate Week is backed by every part of society – from the Prime Minister to Paul McCartney, the NHS to the Met Office, the TUC to the CBI, Girlguiding UK to the National Association of Head Teachers. It is supported by a Headline Partner Tesco, and four Supporting Partners: EDF Energy, H&M, Nissan and SodaStream. During the first Climate Week in 2011 over 3,000 events were attended by half a million people across the UK.

Start thinking about how you could showcase your organisation’s sustainability initiatives during Climate Week 2012. Whatever you are doing, make sure you register your event on the Climate Week website and help to create a national movement for change.

To find out more about getting involved in Climate Week go to www.climateweek.com, email info@climateweek.com or telephone on 020 3397 2601.

SERS are Supporting Climate Week

The National Insulation Association (NIA) has released a press release stressing the importance of insulating your home if you want to save money on your fuel bills. By just insulating your home you could save up to 50% on your fuel bills, and that saving is felt year after year!

They claim that even with the recent energy price drops the average fuel bill is around £1,163 a year! They advise that if you wish to slash your bills by up to half then you should insulate your home now.

Two thirds of heat is lost through uninsulated walls and roofs but by installing cavity wall insulation and loft insulation savings of up to 310 a year can be achieved. However, should you install external wall insulation to a solid wall building alongside loft insulation the NIA reports that the savings are even greater; up to £695 a year!

Neil Marshall, Chief Executive of the NIA, commented: “Home insulation is the single most effective method of saving money on domestic energy bills, with savings continuing year on year! There are fast – rising consumer costs in many other areas too so why wait a moment longer to put these money-saving measures into place?”

The press release advises householders to contact the NIA for their local installer. SERS are a member of the National Insulation Association meaning we are qualified installers who are bound by a strict Code of Professional Practice. We are also able to provide advice on the range of grants available.

Robert Smith at Work on Penywaun

Wherever possible we try to utilise local employment on all contracts. It is important that this practice takes place as we like to give back to the community in which we work. It is also important that at all viable opportunities we pass on our experience to apprentices and work experience students.

But when we started our site in Penywaun we took on a local labourer who was a little closer to home than we realised!

Whilst working on a contract for RCT homes, SERS were encouraged where possible to employ locally based labour whilst in the area. Although this is something which SERS tries to do on all contracts it is sometimes something which is encouraged as part of an agreement as is the case here.

Employed in September 2010 Robert Smith is not only an RCT tenant in the area, but he was also born in the street in which we were working on. As a tenant living and working in the area Robert recently told a local newspaper

“I’m really enjoying working for SERS; all the guys in the team are great. I love working so locally. I feel like I am making a real difference to my neighbours and the community”.

Site manager at Penywaun Mark Thomas said “We like to take on local boys … he has been a great addition to the team!!”.

A lot can be learnt for both the employer and employee when taking on local labour and we really recommend that businesses make the most of local talents.

Our Highly Commended Certificate 2012

SERS have been highly commended in the Building Excellence Awards in category 5 – Sustainability Project.

The Penywaun site started back in 2010 with a pilot scheme and since then has gone from strength to strength. We have currently installed external wall insulation to approximately 314 RCT and privately owned homes. In its second year, the scheme is planned to see SERS install external wall insulation onto a further 114 RCT homes with 42 planned to be completed by the end of March 2012. The scheme will also see around 45 more privately owned properties benefit by the end of March.

The external wall insulation promises to keep residents warmer, reduce fuel bills and help to make the area more sustainable. The insulation also dramatically improves the appearance of a property thus uplifting the whole community.

For more information on the Penywaun site and the awards please click here.

Collecting our Certificate. From right to left, Laurie Morris of SERS, Rhys Steel of Michael Dyson Associates, Mark Thomas of SERS, The Mayor of Rhondda Cynon Taf, two employees from P&P Building & Roofing Contractors Ltd

A four bedroomed detached house in Stafford has been given a ‘green’ makeover. The 18^th Century building is of solid wall construction resulting in it being extremely cold and hard to heat for its owners. Fuelled by oil, the large house was not only expensive to run but also not very environmentally friendly.

In order to reduce the heat which was being lost through the walls it’s owners asked SERS to install external wall insulation to the exterior of the property. This in turn will reduce the carbon footprint of the house, saving around 2663kgCO2 per annum; which equates to 79,886kgCO2 over the next 30 years!

By starting with the fabric of the building, its owners can now go on to make further energy efficiency changes whilst being assured that their efforts won’t be in vein. Very little heating will be required providing the building has adequate insulation – making external wall insulation one of the ‘greenest’ measures around.

SERS are delighted that they have been nominated in the Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council Building Control Building Excellence Awards 2012.

The site at Penywaun, Hirwaun has been nominated in category 5 – a sustainability project with the awards ceremony is being held on Friday the 20^th of January 2012 at the Heritage Park Hotel, Trehafod.

The Penywaun site started back in 2010 with a pilot scheme and since then has gone from strength to strength. We have currently installed external wall insulation to approximately 314 RCT and privately owned homes. In its second year, the scheme is planned to see SERS install external wall insulation onto a further 114 RCT homes with 42 planned to be completed by the end of March 2012. The scheme will also see around 16 more privately owned properties benefit by the end of March.

The external wall insulation promises to keep residents warmer, reduce fuel bills and help to make the area more sustainable. The insulation also dramatically improves the appearance of a property thus uplifting the whole community.

For more information on the Penywaun site please visit the two case studies below.

Partnering Pilot Programme

300 More Homes to Benefit from External Wall Insulation in the Aberdare Area

Blackwood Rugby Club is an integral part of the local community and is located close to our Wales based office. SERS ltd are delighted that we are able to sponsor their youth team for this year.

Founded in 1889 the club has been a member of the Welsh Rugby Union since 1918. We hope the team is highly successful this season and we wish them the best of luck.

 http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/blackwoodrfc/

The Blackwood Rugby Club Youth TeamThe Blackwood Rugby Club Youth Team

As a rule of thumb external wall insulation is fitted to solid walled homes, however we thought we would explain why we are actually externally insulating an increasing number of cavity walled properties.

A cavity constructed home is one in which the external walls of the property have a cavity running through them thus providing a higher level of insulation than solid walled properties which have no such cavity. Many new properties are built with cavity walls and are often filled with insulation however this is not the same story for older properties.

Cavity walls traditionally had an air pocket in the cavity which acts like the insulation. This unfortunately is not the best method of reducing heat loss and so many homes with cavity walls are having these air gaps filled with cavity wall insulation.

But this is not always possible. Sometimes the cavity is too narrow for it to be filled with enough insulation to meet the required building regulation and so home owners must turn to another method of insulation with external wall insulation being the best solution. With the requirement for a reduction in carbon emissions these regulations are going to get stricter and stricter thus ruling out more and more homes which are suitable for cavity wall insulation.

Properties where the cavity is failing badly are another example of cavity walls which cannot be filled and therefore require external wall insulation.  Not always is the cavity clear enough to insulate and provide the reduced heat loss it should thus leaving the home as cold as a solid walled one. In this circumstance attempting to fill the cavity will be unsuccessful and result in cold spots; therefore the property is treated like a solid walled one and insulated externally.

The funding levels which we are able to provide for the installation of external wall insulation have recently been increased by 65% for domestic homeowners. The amount of funding available depends upon the property size and heating source; please contact us to see what funding is available for your home when installing external wall insulation.

After entry into the ‘Low Carbon’ category of the Construction News Specialists Awards 2012, SERS Ltd have been shortlisted.

Officially announced today in Construction News magazine and online the awards will be presented on the 20^th March at the London Hilton Hotel, Park Lane.

The project entered into this category was for our participation on the Walsall CESP scheme. To read more about the scheme please visit the case study here.

One of the houses on the Walsall scheme

November brought a wonderful surprise for SERS Ltd, a first class testimonial from a pair of home owners delighted with their recent external wall insulation installation.

Orchard Farm in Stafford is a detached 18^th Century four bedroomed house of solid wall construction; heated by oil. As a result it was often cold and was getting progressively more and more expensive to heat. Luckily SERS were able to help by insulating their home and made somewhat of a good impression!

“To say that we are delighted with the finished job is something of an understatement! From our first discussion about having our property insulated (after only some 250 years!) we have appreciated the way you have provided a first class service throughout. The attention to detail has been excellent and the performance of your team left everyone ‘gobsmacked’ in terms of both the quality of work and the speed with which it was completed. The finishing touch has been the way the site has been left in pristine condition. Both friends and passers-by have gone out of their way to comment on how good the finished installation looks”.

“Now, we will be able to enjoy a warm, cosy environment whatever the elements throw at us without breaking the bank as a result of ever rising fuel bills!” The Homeowners.  

Orchard Farm

Orchard Farm

Orchard Farm

Have you ever considered installing a renewable heating system but thought that they were a little out of your financial reach?  The Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme can help.

What is it?

Introduced in August 2011 the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme was launched to encourage homeowners to swop to renewable heating systems. The provision of a financial incentive is to entice people to make the change with the overall aim of the scheme being to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.

This scheme is the forerunner of the Renewable Heat Incentive for domestic homeowners and was designed by the Government to help people afford renewable technologies for their home. Funding of around £15 million will be used to make direct payments to subsidise the cost of installing the system.  Below is a table which shows the amount of funding available for each measure:-

How it works

Initially a voucher for the funding will be applied for, following receipt of this the installation shall be carried out with the voucher being returned for a discount on the installation.

Who is eligible?

The scheme is open for applications from people in England, Wales and Scotland.

Things to Consider

The only thing which homeowners must agree to in order to receive these payments is provide feedback on how the equipment works in practice.

Depending on the product you are installing it is essential that you go with an installer that is relevantly certified. Please visit the Energy Saving Trust for more information.

There are some eligibility criteria including the levels of insulation in the home which must have. Please visit the Energy Saving Trust for more information.

When does the scheme end?

The offer is cash limited so make sure you act quickly to ensure you are not dissatisfied. The scheme also expires in March 2012, providing all of the funding has not been allocated.

The Energy Saving Trust is administering the Renewable Heat Premium Payment of behalf of the Department for Energy and Climate Change. Find out more how to apply for this funding and further details on eligibility.

The Recently Insulated Orchard Farm

Homeowners of Orchard farm in Stafford can rest assured that they will be warm this Christmas thanks to the external wall insulation which has been installed by SERS Ltd. Not only will the winter months be cosy for them; they no longer need to worry about spiralling fuel prices as external wall insulation promises to cut bills.

Applied to the exterior of solid walls, external wall insulation reduces the amount of heat lost through the walls helping to heat the room quicker and to maintain the required temperature. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that savings on fuels bills of up to 40% can be achieved making it a great long term investment.

The owners found that the 250 year old property was often very cold and was becoming increasingly expensive to heat due to spiralling fuel bills which seem to be uncapped at the present time. When it came to re render the property, they decided that instead of just applying a coat of render it would be more beneficial to insulate the walls first. Funding under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target was also available to help towards the costs of having the work done.

The main aim of the renewable heat incentive (RHI) is to financially reward and encourage businesses, homeowners and communities to swap their heat source from fossil fuels to renewable and low carbon ones. This Government backed scheme, representing over £860M of investment, makes the production of renewable heat more financially attractive. The ambition is to increase the total heat produced from renewable sources from 1% to 12% by 2020, thus saving 60 million tonnes of CO2.

Rolled out in two phases, phase one started in July and is applicable to non-domestic properties such as businesses and commercial units. Phase 2 however is for the domestic homeowner and will be rolled out alongside the Green Deal in October 2012. For more information on the Green Deal please visit our blog here.

The types of low carbon heat sources which will be covered by this incentive include

• Biomass Boilers
• Air-Source Heat Pumps
• Ground Source Heat Pumps
• Solar Thermal Panels
• Plus other renewable heat incentives

Phase One

As mentioned above the first phase was launched earlier this year is targeted at businesses and commercial properties; the big emitters. This phase covers factories, small businesses and community buildings and provides a long term tariff to those who install renewable heat sources.

Phase Two

Phase two will come into force around October next year (date to be confirmed) to coincide with the Green Deal’s launch. This will provide long term tariff support for installers of renewable heat systems. The launch of the Renewable Heat Incentive to coincide with The Green Deal launch will allow homeowners to take a whole house approach to energy saving and renewable heat production; rather than choosing one or the other.

How The Incentive Works

1. A renewable heat measure is installed into the building be it commercial or domestic. It’s essential that it is checked that the measure you are installing is on the list which qualifies for this incentive.
2. Now the system has been installed it is possible for you to get an estimate of how much heat the system will produce.
3. A fixed amount will then be paid based on that estimate for generating your own heat.
4. Registration onto the scheme via Ofgem will ensure the tariff will remain constant.

Unfortunately further details on this incentive have yet to be decided with regards to the domestic sector, but as soon as they are we will post them on the blog.

For more details on the renewable heat incentive please visit the Renewable Heat Incentive Advisor Website.

SERS Ltd employees have raised £115 to support the ‘Action for Children’ Christmas Campaign in association with Business in the Community.

For most of us Christmas is a magical time, but there are plenty of children in Wales who will receive few, if any, presents this Christmas. This is why Business in the Community have asked businesses and their employees to donate money and SERS employees were happy to support this cause. The Christmas campaign promises to help make the lives of over 2,000 Welsh children brighter by donating gifts to vulnerable children.

Business in the Community are working with a number of Welsh charities including ‘Action for Children’; all of which will provide presents for children who live in poverty, have special needs or who live in care.

Saturday 20^th August saw 10 SERS Ltd employees, predominantly from our Welsh office, team up with three members of the local community in order to take on the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge. Armed with the SERS Ltd mascot teddy, the group set off aiming to complete all 3 peaks in less than 15 hours.

Completing the challenge in just under 14 hours, they smashed their target and raised £1161 for the Mayor of Caerphilly’s chosen charity ‘Llamau’ (Reg 701772); a charity which helps the homeless and vulnerable women of the local community.  Many thanks to all our sponsors for their support.

The Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge includes the key 3 peaks of Wales. The challenge commenced at 6am at the foot of Snowdon in the North and moved onto Cadair Idris in mid Wales. The challenge was then completed at Pen – Y – Fan in the South. The weather looked promising at the start of the day however unfortunately the elements turned against them; but undeterred on they went to the top of all 3 mountains.

 The group of walkers were of varying abilities allowing the more experienced to provide support and encouragement to the more novice team members. Well done all.

 The training before the challenge mainly took place at Pen – Y – Fan, however individual training often took place in order to ensure they hit the 15 hour target. Walk organiser, Gloria Browning noticed “the novices really enjoyed the challenge; however we did climb Pen – Y – Fan (the smallest mountain to be climbed) as part of our training in order to ensure they could reach the top! It was also great when we met ‘Derek the Weatherman’ and really encouraged us to train harder”.

Gloria Browing from SERS handing over our cheque to Hugh Russell from Llamau yesterday

All at SERS Ltd would like to thank Emma Price, Paul Freeman and Paul Ivin for joining the SERS Ltd group and helping to raise such a fantastic amount of money for a great cause.

This week’s install of the week comes from a rural location in Worcestershire. The 16 panel 3.84kWp system has been installed onto a small barn and will generate electricity for use in the home. As well as reducing electricity bills, the system will  provide a tax-free income through the government’s Feed-in-Tariff, guaranteed for 25 years.

The below picture was taken yesterday at the end of the install just as the sun was setting, what a great picture!

A PV System at Sunset

A walk in which various members of SERS took part has raised a total of £2000 (with £235 coming from SERS) for local charity Velindre. Local to our Wales office, Velindre Cancer Centre is the largest non-surgical hospital in Wales and supports 50% of all people who are diagnosed with cancer in Wales.

Some of The Team

On Sunday 30^th October, SERS employees joined forces with SPS Envirowall employees and members of the mountain ash rugby team to raise as much money as possible for this great cause. Following the horseshoe path on the Brecon Beacons the group walked the 3 peaks of Pen – Y – Fan mountain range (whilst Benx HR director Kevin Ruane and friend ran the route!). Unfortunately the weather was against them and the fog set in, however the day was enjoyable for all involved. They even had ‘follow me’ signs due to the poor visibility; but this didn’t put anyone off.

The 'follow me' signs which helped in the fog!!

Kevin Ruane (Benx Human Resources Director) would like to say “a big thank you to all who pledged money to help the event as it was emotional for all!”

Reaching The Top in The Fog!

Velindre hospital relies solely on support and generosity from donors and as a result does a lot of fundraising. If you are interested in raising some money for this wonderful cause please visit the fundraising page here.

Solid wall insulation can be applied externally or internally to a solid walled house to reduce heat loss; a combination of the two is also common – it all depends on the building.

But which is best?

This is a question where there isn’t a simple answer. Both have positives and negatives.

External Wall Insulation

√      Reduces heat Loss

√      Reduces fuel Bills

√      Increases warmth

√      Dramatically improves appearance

√      Reduces maintenance required on the exterior of the building

√      Extends lifespan of the building

√      Does not affect the inside of the property

×        The installation process in weather dependant

Internal Wall Insulation

√      Reduces heat Loss

√      Reduces fuel Bills

√      Increases warmth

√      Doesn’t change the appearance of a property which has character features

√      Can be installed regardless of weather

×        Doesn’t protect the building resulting maintenance still being required

×        Reduces internal living space

×        Causes major internal disruption and requires re – decorating and re – fixing of carpets

×        Plug sockets and radiators have to be relocated

As you can see the aim of reducing heat loss, saving money and becoming more environmentally friendly is achieved through both types of insulation. The end result and the hassle which is gone through are very different.

Internal wall insulation creates a lot of extra work including full re – decoration of each room worked in and all sockets etc removed from the newly insulated wall; not forgetting the reduction in space in the room.

Once you have decided which type of insulation you feel is best for yourself and family, it’s important to research whether the type chosen will be suitable for your property type. It’s great to preserve external features by insulation internally but will this hide any character also? Do you want to spend time after the installation putting your house back together? It definitely needs a lot of thought.

It was announced last week that £200M of further Government funding is going to be added to the Green Deal funding pot. This extra funding has been injected in order to kick start the Governments plans to refurbish 14 million homes in the UK announced Treasury minister Danny Alexander.

This limited time introductory offer will allow early adopters to benefit from The Green Deal scheme as well as receiving money back for early participation. This could be around £150!

“The earlier you Green Deal your home, the quicker you’ll benefit from a warmer and cosier property as well as protecting yourselves from rocketing prices” Danny Alexander.

For more information on The Green Deal please visit our blog.

Newport City Homes recently ran a competition in which SERS Ltd were one of the eleven partners which sponsored the prize. The competition, which was for young people aged between 5 and 16, called for participants to design their ideal bedroom. The prize on offer was the chance to have their dream design turned into reality with a bedroom makeover.  

The two lucky winners (from two categories) were chosen from the many entries received by Newport City Homes who enlisted the help of residents in order to take on the tricky task of judging all the entries. Newport City Homes also noted that the standard of entries was extremely high, which we’re sure must have made the judging harder. The two winners were Megan aged 7 from Ringland and Dani aged 12 from Bettws who both did fantastic designs. 

Both bedroom makeovers are planned to be carried out prior to Christmas and Newport City Homes have enlisted the help of four students who are currently studying interior design at the University of Glamorgan to help turn the winners’ dreams on paper into reality in their bedroom.

The competition was launched at the Resident Festival held by Newport City Homes, for more details on this please visit the link here.

 SERS have been working in partnership with Newport City Homes improving their housing stock by installing external wall insulation to ensure homes are warmer and their fuel bills are reduced.

Following a successful audit, SERS Ltd are pleased to add OHSAS 18001 to their list of international standards, accreditations and trade memberships. We are now a registered firm of this international accreditation.

OHSAS 18001 is an Occupation Health and Safety Assessment Series for health and safety management systems. Its framework will allow us to consistently identify and control our health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents and improve our overall performance.

To see more of our accreditations and trade memberships please click here.

SERS Achieve 18001 Accreditation

We have decided that it’s time to start documenting all of our key and outstanding solar PV installs as some of them amaze even us. Our first one comes from a home in Wales where a 4KWP System has been installed. Taking just one day, the installation involved 16 Suntech 245 panels with a SMA sunny boy Inverter. Our client is extremely happy with the install and is looking forward to the return on investment promised from the Feed in Tariff as well as free electricity.

16 Suntech 245 Panels on Roof

What’s particularly special about this install is the way its performance has been monitored. The homeowner’s son, who is studying renewables, has been taking daily readings in order to compare the output against the predicted figures. The result; its outperforming all expectations even with the weather in Wales being particularly dull at the moment!

The PV System and the Current Poor Weather in Wales

We are particularly pleased with this result. Predicted outputs from system manufacturers are what we generally work with when calculating return, and this fantastic improvement will ensure that the client’s investment will be returned even quicker than predicted; making them extremely pleased also. 

We are looking forward to returning in 12 months to look at the recorded figures to see what the maximum output achieved in the summer is when daylight hours are longer; I think we may have another shock!

Have you ever asked yourself ‘How do I make my home warmer?’ No matter how long you have the heating on for, and at what sub-tropical temperature do you struggle to warm your home?

Prevent Heat Loss by Insulating the Outside of Your Home.

This may be because your home is of solid wall construction. Solid walls don’t have a cavity and therefore can lose up to twice as much heat as cavity walls. To see if your home is solid wall please visit our blog which explains the difference.

There are a number of measures which you can carry out but the first step needs to be reducing the heat loss. 45% of heat is lost through external walls with 25% through the loft. These are the two main areas which need to be tackled. If these two areas are improved and the heat loss reduced then your home will become significantly warmer and easier to heat.

In order to reduce heat loss through the roof, loft insulation must be installed. Heat lost through the walls can be reduced by installing external wall insulation or internal wall insulation. For more information on external wall insulation please click here.

Excluding draughts and hanging thick curtains over windows can also help reduce heat loss and keep warmth in. When in a heated room, keep all doors shut in order to keep that room warm.

This is a question which we get asked at least once a day. It’s not something which you ever really think about I suppose until you realise that there is a need to do something; mainly because your home is cold.

The easiest way to tell whether your home is solid wall is to look at the pattern of the bricks on your outside walls.

Solid Wall

Solid walled houses were generally built in the 1930’s or before and have no insulation. The pattern of the bricks for a solid wall usually has bricks which are both head on and length ways. This is shown in the image below. Solid walled homes are amongst the coldest and are often very expensive to heat. The nature in the way the walls were built means that it is very easy for heat to escape leaving the house cold and highly inefficient. It also means that cavity wall insulation is not an option and therefore in order to rectify this heat loss insulation must be applied to solid walls. This can be either internal wall insulation or external wall insulation.

A Solid Wall

Cavity Wall

Cavity walled homes on the other hand have a completely different pattern of bricks and can often be insulated using cavity wall insulation. A cavity wall will have bricks in a regular length way pattern which continues around the house. The image below shows what a house built with cavity walls looks like. Although cavity wall insulation is often the best method for insulating cavity walled homes, some cavity walls are not actually suitable for cavity wall insulation and so external wall insulation should be used in its place (or internal wall insulation).

A Cavity Wall

If you are unsure whether you have a solid walled home or cavity walled home please contact us and we will be easily able to tell you.

To learn more information on external wall insulation please visit our blog ‘What is external wall insulation?’

Welsh environment minister John Griffiths recently visited our Penywaun site to see the impact for himself that the works are having.

Alongside other refurbishment works, SERS have installed external wall insulation to 314 properties to date with around a further 130 to do on the Penywaun site.

The homes, which are a mix of RCT and privately owned are benefitting from these works due to funding through the Welsh Governments Strategic Energy Programme ARBED.

The minister visited the home of some residents whose house has been transformed by the scheme. Their homes have received external wall insulation and re-cladding by SERS as well as new windows and doors. He also spent time meeting SERS employee Robert Smith who lives locally to the scheme in an RCT property.

Whilst on his visit to the site, Environment Minister John Griffiths announced a further £8.8million of funding to improve the energy efficiency of Welsh homes. Now in its second phase, ARBED has seen thousands of homes benefit from energy saving measures.

Roy and Maureen Jones with Welsh Government Minister John Griffiths AM

For the second time in the last two months I have just come across an article referring to external wall insulation (insulation as a whole) as ‘sexy’. The first article which i saw was a quote that was made back in late 2009 by President Obama “Insulation is sexy stuff.  Here’s what’s sexy about it: saving money”

Whilst at the roundtable Obama went on to say

 “Think about it this way. If you haven’t upgraded your home yet, it’s not just heat or cool air that’s escaping, its energy and money that you are wasting. If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window, up into the atmosphere, you’d try and figure out how you were going to keep that. But that’s exactly what’s happening because of that lack of efficiency in our buildings”.

This statement is very true and can be related to all solid wall properties which do not have wall insulation. Money and energy is literally just seeping through the walls into the atmosphere. It’s all being wasted – for no reason.

Today’s article looks at insulation from a different point of view, but with its title “external wall insulation suddenly looks a sexy proposition” it definitely shows that external wall insulation is a topic worth discussing. The article was written for the Guardian in 2009 (click here to read full article) and goes past the obvious discussion topic of external wall insulation saving money and energy and looks at the need for prioritising eco works.

The simplest way to put this is that you need to start from the outside in when making your home more ‘green’. Air source heat pumps and new energy efficient boilers are all great ways of generating energy efficient heat, but without adequate insulation on a solid walled property all of that heat will still be lost as quick; therefore the same amount of heat will still need to be generated it will just be more efficient.

Read more

Bristol’s Centre for Sustainable Energy has reported that their offer of free loft insulation had a very poor take up until the BBC reported the initiatives failure. The centre offered free loft insulation to 1000 households in Bristol but only received just over 50 calls before the national advertising. We have decided to look at why there was such a poor take up initially on this scheme and others like it. Free loft insulation could save money on fuel bills and make homes warmer without costing a penny – so why are people not queuing up?

The scheme which was developed by Bristol City Council and funded by N Power and Bristol City Council is available through CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) and is available to all domestic and rented homes in Bristol. It also includes free delivery to the house; which with fuel prices as they are could also be a real saving! The average loft takes 25 – 35 rolls to achieve the most efficient depth – that would be at least ten trips to the shops in my car!

The BBC reported the poor take up of the scheme which initiated a sudden surge in calls and a high uptake. It’s clear that the national advertising helped to make this initiative successful, but what if the BBC hadn’t reported it?

There are two chains of thought which potentially explain why take up was so slow on this scheme; and is slow and often rejected on many others around the country. The first is the presumption by people that these offers are always going to be around. Don’t get me wrong, with climate change being such an important factor all around the world, there is bound to be a constant push for change for years to come. However, these free or discounted schemes are due to end next year once The Green Deal comes into force. Some may be waiting to see what The Green Deal offers, but you only need to insulate your loft once so why wait to see if there is a better offer – its free it can’t get any better!

Everywhere you look energy companies and DIY stores are offering free or discounted loft or cavity insulation, energy consumption meters and other energy saving measures – but which one is best? It isn’t unreasonable to see why there is the common mis-conception that these offers (which are provided under CERT and CESP) will be around forever and so why not wait?

The other possible explanation is belief. A lot of people find it hard to accept the idea of ‘something for nothing’. There must be a catch. There is a catch but not to the home owner, as discussed about the initiatives are through CERT and CESP. Both of which are schemes in which the government has put obligations upon energy suppliers to spend money in order to reduce carbon emissions. They have to spend the money else they will be fined! Putting it simply, they need people like us to take up the offer in order to spend their allocated fee else they will be heavily fined.

It’s important to establish what your home needs and to look at the house as a whole. Insulating the loft is an excellent way of reducing heat loss, however unless your home is well insulated heat will still be being lost through all other external walls.

Loft Insulation

An example of two properties with external wall insulation

SERS Ltd are delighted to have been asked back to a site in Stafford to install external wall insulation on a pair of semi-detached 3 bedroom houses.

The pair of houses is located on a street in which SERS Ltd have recently worked in association with the local council to install external wall insulation. SERS Ltd partnered up with Stafford and Rural Homes in order to install external wall insulation onto over 360 homes.

Unfortunately however not all privately owned homes were able to benefit from the scheme and so these two homes were left. After seeing the work done on hundreds of houses around them and neighbours mentioning the benefits of having the insulation, both home owners joined together to get the pair of houses completed using the same pebble dash finish.

The main impact on the estate of having the work done was the general transformation of the appearance. By using a silicone render or pebble dash finish, external wall insulation can dramatically improve appearance and revamp a whole neighbourhood.

The Energy bill received royal assent on October 18^th 2011. Originally introduced in the House of Lords on December 2010, the energy Bill has taken 10 months to receive its assent and has now become The Energy Act 2011. The Act specifically includes key provisions on The Green Deal, The Private Rented Sector and Energy Company Obligation amongst other things.

The Energy Act 2011 has established a financing framework to implement the Green Deal at the end of 2012. The Green Deal will allow fixed energy efficiency improvements to be carried out on homes and businesses with no upfront funding being required. Measures such as external wall insulation could be installed with the cost via a charge on the energy bill. This charge will be less than the saving which has been made by implementing the measure.

The Energy Company Obligation will continue to place an obligation on energy companies to support hard to treat homes in certain customer groups and will replace CERT and CESP which expire at the end of 2012. This will also work alongside The Green Deal to help to support homes that may be vulnerable or on low incomes.

The Act also includes a provision which means that from April 2016, a private landlord is unable to refuse a tenant who wishes to implement energy saving measures should a reasonable finance package be available. The Green Deal and The Energy Company Obligation are two examples of adequate financial packages. It also implements the provision that from April 2018 it will become unlawful for a private landlord to rent out a building which does not reach a minimum energy requirement.

Finally it also puts into place the facility for the roll out of smart meters across UK households. This will help homes to monitor energy use and reduce fuel bills.

For more information please visit the Department of Climate Change website.

With yesterday’s announcement by the Department of Energy and Climate Change of the comprehensive review of the feed in tariff, we thought we would explain what it means for you, and explain why the future is still bright for solar panels.

The review proposes new financial rates to be paid for various sized systems; some are up to half of their original value. The new rates will go through in April 2012 officially however they will affect all new systems installed on or after 12th December 2011^.

Which means there are 6 weeks in which if people were to act quickly they would be able to benefit from the original higher tariff.

But it’s not all negative, yes the amount of funding that you receive will be reduced but there aren’t many other investments which provide a return like this (even with the lower tariff) for a guaranteed 25 years. Tax free as well!

And let’s face it, with energy bill spiralling out of control you still get to benefit from free electricity – which is a bonus for all.

Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Our recommendation is to try and get your photovoltaic panels installed and up and running by the 12^th of December, if this is not possible just remember the investment is still a good one. Not forgetting the other reasons for having panels installed like reducing your carbon emissions, increasing property values and protecting yourself from spiralling fuel bill increases.

Going ‘green’ with your home can not only help to reduce your energy consumption thus saving you money on your energy bills, but could also increase the value of your property. Many people in the UK are aware of the impact our daily activities have on the environment and some often choose the environmentally friendly option. Others will choose a well-insulated house in the knowledge that their fuel bills will be kept under control and that they are protected from spiralling increases. Either way insulating your home makes it more appealing to buyers and potentially increases its value.

The Insulation and Cladding Association (INCA) confirm that installing external wall insulation on your home not only results in a warm environment but it can also increase the value of your home.

A number of employees from SERS are to carry out a walk for charity in order to raise money for the Velindre Hospital in Cardiff.  The walk will see the team, which also includes employees from our sister company SPSenvirowall and members of the Mountain Ash rugby team, walk the Brecon Beacons Horseshoe path on Sunday the 30^th October – around 12 miles!

The Velindre hospital provides specialist cancer care to patients within Wales. It provides essential support and treatment and it a vital part in the treatment of patients with Cancer. The hospital relies on support and generosity from donors and as a result carries out a lot of fundraising in order to keep up their life changing work. For more information on the hospital and to find out ways in which you can help visit The Velindre Hospital website.

We wish them all luck and hope the weather is nice to them on the day.

SERS Ltd will be having a presence at Solar Power UK in Birmingham from the 26^th – 28^th October. Held at the International Convention Centre, the event will bring together around 600 delegates from the solar industry and will see many solar companies exhibiting; from both the photovoltaic and solar thermal sectors.

The three day event will include an exhibition and conference programme which will see key note speakers deliver conferences, training and seminars.

SERS Ltd will have a presence at the event for all three days, please contact us should you wish to meet with someone from SERS to discuss solar power.

Energy Saving Week (24^th – 28^th of October) is an annual event led by the  Energy Saving Trust. Its main aim is to advise and support homes and businesses to take action in order to reduce fuel bills and save energy.

The Energy Saving Trust has reported that the average home can save up to £280 a year just by being more energy efficient! With fuel bills on the rise there isn’t a better reason to make changes. Energy Saving Week aims to provide households with information in order for them to make the right decision based upon their situation.  

The Energy Saving Trust has provided a list of top tips to help save money and stop wasting energy. More details on each can be found on the Energy Saving Trust website.

• Look for cavities
• Be eco chic and look for the logo
• Boilers… if it isn’t broken, it still might need fixing
• Be nice to your freezer
• Wrap up your hot water tank … give it a jacket
• Draw at dusk… close your curtains
• A bright idea… buy an energy efficient light bulb
• Take to the floor
• See double… and cut heat loss by 50%
• Feeling chilly? Loft insulation will keep the heat in your home
• Generate your own!
• Be switched on – take a home energy check!

If you would like independant advice from The Energy Saving Trust then please call their free phone number on 0800 512 012 where you can speak to an advisor in your region. They will be able to advise you on ways to cut bills and save energy.  They can also give advice on government grants that you may be eligible for.

Our first stop on the SERS Roadshow, Homebase Cannock, is proving a great success. We have had many people coming to us for more information on external wall insulation and solar photovoltaic panels. We have also had a number of people sign up for a survey!

We will be at Homebase Cannock until the 16^th of October. We will then be moving to Homebase Shrewsbury from the 17^th – 23^rd of October. The final stop see’s us in Homebase Oswestry the following week.

If you would like any further information or a meeting with us, please contact us via the contact page on the website.

SERS Ltd have today been highly commended in the INCA (The Insulated Render and Cladding Association) 2011 awards in the Domestic Refurbishment – High Rise Category where they were appointed as the contractor to install external wall insulation.

Bristol City Council nominated SERS Ltd in the Domestic Refurbishment – High Rise category for the installation of external wall insulation on Holroyd House, Bristol.

 Holroyd House, a 17 storey high rise block of flats, had an Envirowall external wall insulation system installed by SERS Ltd which resulted in a U – Value of 0.32 W/m2K.

SERS Ltd as the contractor and SPS Envirowall as the System Designer were announced as having been shortlisted for Holroyd House, in July along with 3 other entrants in the same category. For more information on the Holroyd House project and the complete schedule of works please visit the case study below.

 Holroyd House Case Study

SERS Ltd are today exhibiting at the ‘Greening Government 2011: Mainstreaming Sustainable Development’ Conference and Exhibition in London.  We have a new exhibition stand (shown above) for this event, in which we are exhibiting in association with our sister company SPSenvirowall 

Brought by Gov Today, as part of their successful ‘Securing the Future’ series of events, this Annual National Conference examines progress within the public sector and by Central Government in particular, relating to performance in achieving sustainable development. The show attracts a wide selection of attendees from across all areas of central government and the public sector including Chief Executives, Directors of Sustainability and Climate Change Advisors.

This is a tricky question; both have their advantages however in the current climate, with the housing market stagnant, we thought we’d look into more detail on this. 

The main question is why? Why do you want to sell? Why do you want to retrofit? Retrofitting can be an alternative to selling. If it’s to move locations, then retrofitting isn’t suitable. But if your home is in need of a face lift, too cold, getting too expensive to upkeep or your just plain bored of it, retrofitting could bring back to life a once loved home without having to move on.

Depending on the types of retrofitting you carry out, you can even add value to your home; a perfect way to help you sell your home should you have already decided to sell but can’t seem to shift it. Alternatively retrofitting now and enjoying its benefits can add value; meaning once the economy picks up, your home will be worth more and well worth the investment. Making your home stand out from the rest on the market is achievable with retrofitting. Installing renewable technology, installing new windows and doors, improving the homes thermal performance and appearance or even having a new central heating system can all make your home more appealing to buyers; however it will be hard to resist falling in love with it all over again and choosing to stay put!

I think asking whether to retrofit your home or sell your home is the wrong question. The two sit together, retrofitting can help to sell your home but also help to combat the reasons why you are selling your home.

SERS Ltd have donated 15 drug awareness books to a local high school to their Cannock based office. In association with D.A.T.A (Developing Awareness to Adolescents), Cannock Chase High School have received the books in order to help promote drugs awareness amongst the students.

D.A.T.A’s aim is to educate on the devastating effect that drugs and alcohol has on users and the people around them. Through clear education they hope to make young people aware that drugs are not safe to take; in a society in which these habits are becoming more common and accepted amongst the young.

SERS Ltd are always interested in supporting their local community and welcome further suggestions. We have an office in Cannock and an office in Pengham.

Consumer Focus have urged more and more of the UK’s households to take advantage of the governments insulating schemes the Energy Saving Trust has announced. With a predicted cold winter drawing in, the insulation scheme can help homes across the country to keep warm.

Although tens of millions of homes have already benefitted, there are still many more households that could benefit from discounted or even free insulation under the scheme.

As previously announced by energy secretary Chris Huhne, in order for the government’s targets to be met the big 6 energy companies must more than triple their monthly installation rates to counter act their lagging numbers.

The insulation scheme covers External Wall Insulation, Internal Wall Insulation, Loft Insulation and Cavity Wall Insulation. Funding is provided through a number of streams such as CESP (Community Energy Saving Programme) and CERT (Community Energy Reduction Target).

If you are interested in finding out whether you are eligible for discounted or even free external wall insulation then please contact us and we would be happy to advise you.

Cwmaman Music Festival 2011 was held on September 23^rd – 25^th and SERS were proud to be able to sponsor the event. In its fourth year, the festival boasts a weekend full of musical diversity. With six stages and 3 full days the festival plays host to some of the best local talent with an emphasis on artists within the valleys.

Attracting visitors from all over the UK and Europe, Cwmaman music festival is organised by volunteers who live in Cwmaman village and who have a passion for live music.

Cwmaman is located between two sites in Wales in which SERS have recently been working on installing external wall insulation and therefore it was the perfect event for us to sponsor. We are looking forward to seeing what the 2012 festival has in store and wish the team the best of luck in the organising of it!

The Cwmaman Music Festival Programme

The Energy Saving Trust recently announced that the majority of landlords (around two thirds) would consider taking advantage of the Green Deal Scheme. The National Landlords Association (NLA), who carried out the research, found that 24% would definitely take up the Green Deal scheme. With only 17% saying they had no interest in the scheme.

We decided to explore just what makes this many landlords so sure that they are going to sign up next year. Essentially the Green Deal will allow landlords to borrow money in order to improve the energy efficiency of their properties which they let out. On the face of it this has some clear benefits to the property owner. The house will become more appealing to tenants making it easier to let and at a higher rental price, the property owner will benefit from long term beneficial improvements to the building which will add longevity and value.

However there are a few other impacts interlinked with the above which seals the deal of the Green Deal being an excellent opportunity for Landlords.  Tenants could get lower utility bills and a warmer home to live in making them stay longer and the most obvious benefit; there will be a reduction in carbon emissions.

And this is all at no extra monthly cost to the Landlord! To see how this is the case and learn more on what the Green Deal is, please read our blog ‘What is the Green Deal?’.

SERS Ltd are about to embark on their first roadshow around Shropshire and Staffordshire. Providing in depth information and guidance on external wall insulation, solar photovoltaic panels and energy saving measures, the roadshow is one not to be missed.

We will be starting the road show in Cannock on the 10^th of October and visiting Shrewsbury and Oswestry in the following subsequent weeks.

Please feel free to come and visit us in any of the following stores or contact us via the website.

Homebase Cannock

10^th – 16^th October 2011

The Orbital Retail Centre

Voyager Drive

Cannock

WS11 8XP

Homebase Shrewsbury

17^th – 23^rd October 2011

Sundorne Retail Park

Battlefield Rd

Shrewsbury

 SY1 4YA

Homebase Oswestry

24^th – 30^th October 2011

Penda Retail Park

Salop Road

Oswestry

SY11 2RL

In his speech at the liberal democrat conference last week, Energy secretary Chris Huhne pledged to get tougher on the big six energy suppliers following their recent hikes in prices.

The practice of energy companies luring new customers in with cheap deals whilst increasing the prices for its existing ones was heavily criticised, with Huhne pledging to stop this.

His main aim was to make it easier for people to spot cheaper deals and switch providers. It is not the case that you will face the same bill whatever provider you go with; there is variation and a significant one at that. In order to avoid these price increases his main message was to encourage people to swop providers and take advantage of the low and appealing tariffs which the energy suppliers are offering to new customers.

He set out many other ideas for tackling the ever growing problem that is the energy market, including encouraging smaller firms to enter the market to provide options for people. It will be some time before we hear the outcome of the plans laid down yesterday, however they are long awaited by the British public who are slowly drifting closer to fuel poverty with a long cold winter ahead.

Energy giant EDF recently announced that the public have lost trust in energy companies. We ask is this true?

It seems that the big 6 energy companies (in which EDF is one) continuously increase their prices with their customers’ anger increasing simultaneously. Just talking amongst SERS employees it’s obvious that people are starting to get fed up and realise that the future we face regarding fuel prices is not only worrying but also appears  hard to justify.

While they report huge record profits, energy prices continue to increase unmanageably. How is this fair and even allowed? The answer is that it’s not. Ofgem found some utility companies guilty of ripping off its customers and charged them £250M at the start of this year after launching a legal investigation into their charging practices. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have stopped it with them still blaming wholesale prices for the constant increase; with no recognition of their soaring profits.

Is renewable energy the answer? There are definite ways to alleviate their impact on our finances such as reducing energy consumption by improving efficiency. However, it’s clear that the energy companies are going to be around for a lot longer yet, so let’s hope our trust is restored because as it currently stands the future is bleak.

A comprehensive review of the feed in tariffs was announced in February this year. The main part of the review is due to start in 2012 dependent upon take up; if uptake exceeds to the Government’s predictions then the review will be carried out sooner.

The Government is guaranteed to make changes to the Feed in Tariff (the scheme that provides guaranteed payments for generating electricity); however no one is exactly sure on what these changes will be. It’s pretty much certain though that there will be a reduction in the tariff payments.

If they do make a reduction in the tariffs then the scheme is still highly attractive to the domestic market and in fact anyone who is planning on funding the installation themselves. However, any commercial projects (20kwp – 50kwp) where businesses are hoping to get free solar panels through the rent a roof option need to act fast. The reduced tariffs may mean that investors do not see the scheme as attractive as it currently is. It’s important that people act fast in order to not miss out.

A fast track review has already seen the tariff for large scale and standalone PV projects reduced as of 1^st August. But tariffs for farm-scale AD projects have been increased! Its critical people act now to reap the full benefit.

Generally the tariffs will remain unchanged until April 2012, and a reminder any installations already accredited for the feed in tariffs at the time of any change will not be affected.

We are in a position to take on rent – a – roof projects and are actively searching for the right opportunities. Please contact us if you have a project which you think may interest us.

This annual event took place on September 10^th 2011 and SERS Ltd were delighted that they were able to attend with a small stall. A positive contribution from all those involved made the day highly successful.

Around 1200 people attended the festival at John Frost square and employees from SERS Ltd enjoyed spending time talking to many of these.

A large number of attendees were Newport City Homes tenants; many of which SERS Ltd have recently worked with installing external wall insulation onto their homes. Contracts manager Laurie Morris said “It was great to catch up with some of the people we worked alongside and meet some of the ones who weren’t home when we worked on their house. I also spent time talking to people who had seen the external wall insulation being installed in the area and wanted more information on having the work done to their home”.

As well as discussing external wall insulation many people enquired about solar photovoltaic panels as their popularity continues to soar.

SERS Ltd had a great day there and really enjoyed themselves and hope to be able to get involved again next year. For more information on the festival please click here.

The last 12 months has seen all 6 of the major energy firms increase their prices; TWICE.

EDF is the last one to announce its increases in this second round of hikes with its changes coming into effect in November and affecting its 3.2 million customers. This announcement comes just two days after Scottish and Southern Energy’s and EON’s recent increases took effect potentially affecting all of their 5 million and 7.4 million customers respectively.

EDF was the only energy supplier in the big 6 to freeze its prices last winter before finally increasing them in March this year. The other five all increased their prices just before Christmas with many of the effects being felt over the ‘big freeze’ which Britain felt.

June 2011 saw the first price increase announcement from Scottish Power, with EDF announcing the 6^th increase just 3 months later. The effects of this second round of increase on homes across Britain will be felt this winter as all of the increase will come into effect by November.

The increases are often blamed on rising wholesale costs. The result however is that the millions of people affected are one step closer to fuel poverty. With prices changing roughly every 6 months it is essential home owners evaluate their fuel plan often, to ensure they are getting the best deal. For ways on avoiding the impact of these increases please visit our blog.

With the recent announcement from EDF Energy that they are increasing their prices AGAIN, we thought we would use our blog to suggest ways in which you can protect yourself against these ever increasing tariffs.

EDF is the last of the BIG 6 energy firms to announce a price rise in the last 3 – 4 months, this comes within 12 months of the last increase which they all made (the BIG 6 are Scottish and Southern Energy, British Gas, N Power, EON, EDF Energy and Scottish Power).  These recent increases are expected to affect over 20 million people pushing them closer to fuel poverty and forcing them to cut back on spending in order to keep warm over winter.

There are however a number of ways in which we think you can help to limit the impact these constant increases will have on your finances leaving you with more money to spend on yourself and your family.

1. Use price comparison websites – these are a great tool to help make sure you are on the correct plan (and the cheapest). If you have been with your supplier over 12 months then you should definitely look at changing as you can save over £100 in some cases, you may also be able to negotiate a special plan as competition between the companies increases.
2. Pay by direct debit – this is the easiest way to save money as many energy firms give you a discount just for paying by direct debit. Plus there is no hassle as its all taken care of.
3. Take out a duel fuel policy – once again many suppliers give a discount; just for having both gas AND electricity supplied by them!
4. Install external wall insulation (EWI) to your home –although external wall insulation requires an initial financial outlay; it dramatically reduces the heat which is lost through external walls thus making your house cheaper to heat. Seen as a long term investment, EWI will protect you from spiralling fuel increases.
5. Install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels – photovoltaic panels allow you to generate your own electricity which in turn significantly reduces your bill. The Feed in Tariffs currently also mean that you are paid for this electricity generated even though you use it for free! Plus you can sell any extra back to your energy supplier – it’s about time they gave us something back! Again, although there is an initial outlay, solar PV panels are considered one of the top investments you can make at present.
6. Get a smart meter – smart meters are an excellent way of seeing exactly how much electricity/gas you are using in real time, enabling you to reduce your usage. Many utilities are now giving smart meters away for free.

These are just six ways which we see as key ideas for reducing your fuel bill and protecting you from these spiralling costs. Should you wish to suggest any others or hear about other ways then please do not hesitate to contact us or visit the Energy Saving Trust website.

The South Wales Argus announced in August that four council – owned buildings are planned to benefit from photovoltaic panels in the local area to our head office.

The series of solar photovoltaic panels are predicted to save around £1million over a 25 year period when installed. This revenue will be generated by receiving payments from the Feed in Tariff scheme. The four buildings energy costs shall also be reduced considerably due to their significant self-sufficiency in electricity generation.

As with all installations of PV panels, a full detailed survey will be carried out prior to the final decision. However it’s clear that the potential savings and forecasted revenue are a great benefit to the local area and community.

SERS Ltd is now able to provide personal finance options to homeowners who wish to improve the energy efficiency of their home. SERS Ltd have partnered up with Hitachi in order to provide private funding options to its customers who wish to install external wall insulation to their home.

For more information on person finance options through Hitachi, or information on external wall insulation please contact us on 01543 889080.

 With all the ‘big 6’ utility companies recently announcing plans to increase their gas and electricity prices by up to  19% in some cases, it seems to us that now more than ever homeowners are and should consider the benefits of investing in solar PV (photovoltaic) panels.

While wholesale energy costs continue to rise and the global energy market remains volatile, solar is reportedly now 90% cheaper than it was in the 1970’s. Which means solar is becoming a real cost-saving option for home owners. Indications seem to validate the claim that Solar PV production has doubled every two years since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing solar power and energy saving technologies as a whole.

So what are the saving benefits of solar PV?

1. Saving benefits are twofold as solar panel installation will not only reduce the cost of your bills but it will also rapidly reduce your CO2 output.
2. According to the Energy Saving Trust the average home owner can generate a saving of almost a tonne of CO2 a year from being emitted from their home.

Additionally, thanks to the introduction of the Government’s “feed-in tariff”, which pays people for generating their own electricity using green technology, Solar PV also represents an excellent financial investment and benefits the homeowner in 2 key areas:

1. Tax-free, inflation-linked income
2. Protection against future energy price increases

When we consider the above its easy to see why Solar PV is increasingly regarded as the best way of tackling the ever increasing energy bills.

SERS Ltd are looking forward to the Newport City Homes Resident Festival as we will have a small stall there and will be getting involved in the day’s activities. Saturday 10^th September at John Frost Square in the city Centre, the festival promises to be both fun and exciting. With music, arts and crafts, stalls and a bouncy castle and carousel there is something for all the family.

The day will commence at 12pm until 4pm and is free to attend. SERS Ltd would like to thank Newport City Homes for allowing us to be involved in such a promising and exciting day.

SERS Ltd have worked in partnership on a number of schemes with Newport City Homes installing external wall insulation onto some of their housing stock.

Solar photovoltaic panels (also known as PV panels) capture daylight to generate electricity. Due to them capturing daylight and not only sunlight, they are perfect for the UK climate and much more efficient than thermal panels.

Here at SERS Renewables we design and install photovoltaic systems to both domestic and commercial properties. They have been around for many years; however their popularity has significantly increased over the last few years. This is jointly due to the spiralling increases in fuel bills and the government introduced feed in tariffs for renewable energy. Due to the significant increase in popularity, solar photovoltaic panels have become one of the fastest growing energy saving technologies around. We have noticed a sudden increase in demand since the tariffs were introduced, with more and more people having PV panels installed by SERS Renewables and reaping the benefits.

The Times Newspaper recently voted them one of the top 5 investments which can be made. To read the full article please visit The Times website.

Photovoltaic technology allows you to generate free, clean electricity; reducing fuel bills and your carbon footprint. The government’s introduction of the Feed in Tariffs also allows you to get paid for the electricity which you generate.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has today warned the ‘Big 6’ energy suppliers that they are at risk of missing the Government’s mandatory home energy efficiency targets and need to significantly increase their insulation rates.

The CERT scheme requires the 6 key energy firms to fund energy efficiency measures in homes in order to save up to 293 million tonnes of lifetime CO2 emissions by December 2012.

Figures released today indicate that around 300,000 homes were professionally insulated in the past 3 months under CERT (Carbon Emissions Reductions Target). These figures suggest that the Government’s targets may not be met, leaving energy suppliers liable for fines worth up to 10% of their turnover. In order to avoid this, Huhne warned that energy companies may need to almost double their insulation rates to meet the tough CERT targets.

SERS Ltd can confirm that they will be exhibiting at Sustainable Communities 2011: Local Growth, Local Futures.  As well as exhibiting, SERS Ltd is pleased to be holding a master class on the day. Both the exhibition stand and master class will be held in partnership with our sister company SPS Envirowall.

Presented by Gov Today, this is the third Annual Sustainable Communities Conference. The exhibition and conference is to be held on the 2^nd November at The Brewery Conference Centre, The City of London.

“Sustainable Communities 2011: Local Growth, Local Futures Conference and Exhibition will examine specific areas of Government policy, which are radically affecting sustainable communities: economic growth, social development and environmental responsibility”. The conference will attract various people including advisors on climate change, corporate social responsibility directors and chief executives.

For more information on the conference please visit the Gov Today website.

The master class will see managing director of SERS Ltd Mike Roberts, and director Mitch Gee, from SPS Envirowall discussing whole house refurbishment with the emphasis being placed on insulation. The session promises to be both informative and promising.

If you would like more information on whole house refurbishment, please feel free to contact us.

External wall insulation (EWI for short) also known as solid wall insulation helps to insulate a building from the outside. Applied to the external walls, external wall insulation helps to reduce the rate at which heat escapes.

Having external wall insulation applied to your home or housing stock helps to stop wasting energy, save money and protect your future. By reducing the rate at which heat is lost, the Energy Saving Trust estimates that fuel bills are cut by up to £385 a year, you are protected from spiralling fuel bill increases, living conditions are improved through increased warmth and the external appearance is dramatically improved.

Homes built before 1930 (and some built later), usually have solid walls; around one in four homes in the UK have solid walls. These types of building have been typically known as ‘hard to heat’ and lose around 45% of their heat straight through the walls. This is twice as much as through a cavity wall.

For more information on External Wall Insulation please visit the Energy Saving Trust.

SERS Ltd are delighted to have been nominated and shortlisted for an INCA (The Insulated Render and Cladding Association) award for a project in which they were appointed as the contractor to install external wall insulation.

Bristol City Council nominated SERS Ltd in the Domestic Refurbishment – High Rise category for the installation of external wall insulation on Holroyd House, Bristol. Holroyd House, a 17 storey high rise block of flats, had an Envirowall external wall insulation system installed by SERS Ltd which resulted in a U – Value of 0.32 W/m2K.

SERS Ltd as the contractor and SPS Envirowall as the System Designer were announced as having been shortlisted for Holroyd House, in July along with 3 other entrants in the same category. The INCA awards recognise Innovation and Excellence in external wall insulation and the winners will be announced at the 2011 INCA conference and Exhibition on Wednesday the 12^th of October; in which SERS Ltd will be exhibiting.

For more information on the Holroyd House project and the complete schedule of works please visit the case study below.

 Holroyd House Case Study

For more information on INCA please click here.

‘Greening Government 2011: Mainstreaming Sustainable Development’ Conference and Exhibition

12th October 2011, The Brewery Conference Centre, The City of London

SERS Ltd are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the Greening Government Conference in October this year. Our exhibition stand is in association with one of our sister companies; SPS Envirowall.

Brought by Gov Today, as part of their successful ‘Securing the Future’ series of events, this Annual National Conference examines progress within the public sector and by Central Government in particular, relating to performance in achieving sustainable development. The show will attract a wide selection of attendees from across all areas of central government and the public sector including Chief Executives, Directors of Sustainability and Climate Change Advisors. The day promises to cover many topics including Reducing Energy Consumption, the Feed –in – Tariff’s and retrofitting and refurbishment.

For more information on this event or if you are interested in attending please visit The Greening Government website or contact us via info@sersltd.co.uk

Here at SERS Ltd we are specialist installers of external wall insulation. With over 20 years’ worth of experience we have installed over 2 million m2 of insulation to a variety of commercial buildings, social housing and private homes.

We are also an MCS accredited approved installer of Solar Photovoltaic Panels. This means that we are able to install solar panels to homes enabling home owners to receive payments from utility companies under the Government initiative of feed in tariffs.  The Energy Saving Trust website provides  a clear understanding of how feed in tariffs work. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Sell-your-own-energy/Feed-in-Tariff-scheme

Our head office is based in Wales, and we have operational centres based in England. SERS Ltd are recognised as one of the UK’s largest and longest established installers of external wall insulation.

12 SERS employees from our Welsh office are set to take on the Welsh 3 peaks challenge this Saturday (20^th August 2011) all for a great cause.

Aiming to complete all 3 climbs in less than 15 hours, their hard work and dedication has been fantastic. Raising funds for Llamau (reg 701772) a charity which helps the homeless and vulnerable women of their local community, their expedition will see them climb Snowdon, Cader Idris and Pen-Y-Fan.

Full story to come,  along with pictures of the day and even a snapshot with ‘Derek the Weatherman’ who they met whilst training!

Welcome to the very first SERS Ltd blog.  With an increased growth in social media we thought it was time that we got involved!

We will be using our blog to keep everyone updated on energy efficiency topics, key projects which we are working on, answer frequently asked questions and provide handy saving tips! We also plan to cover a selection of informative topics to help provide information to make an informed choice when eco-furbishing your home!

Our blogs will be coming on a weekly basis from a variety of people within the organisation including the Managing Director, Business Development Managers, Marketing Department and Specialists in particular areas.

We welcome all questions and suggestions and promise to respond in the best possible way! Please also feel free to suggest any blog topics which you would like us to cover.

Saturday, July 2^nd saw a number of SERS Ltd employees manning a stand at the popular Monmouthshire Housing Association fun day. With face painting, bouncy castles and many more exciting activities and stalls there was plenty to do for all of the family.

Based on Monmouthshire Leisure Centre playing fields between 1pm and 5pm, entry was free to all. There was even free transport available for Monmouthshire Housing Association tenants from Caldicot, Chepstow, Abergavenny, Monmouth and the villages en route.

SERS Ltd have been working with Monmouthshire Housing Association installing external wall insulation onto some of their housing stock. The picture above shows Tony Bowen from Monmouthshire Housing Association with SERS Ltd site manager Graeme Furlong at the fun day.

The day was a huge success and SERS Ltd would like to thank Monmouthshire housing association for allowing us to take part and hope to get involved with the fun day next year.

For more information on external wall insulation please contact us here. Or click here for more details on Monmouthshire Housing Association and more pictures from the day.

June 24^th saw a number of SERS Ltd employees taking part in the National day of employee volunteering; the Give and Gain day. Working in Ringland Wales, the team joined forces with other employees in the local area to carry out a variety of tasks. This year saw the event go global with 24,160 employee volunteers worldwide all aiming to make a difference to their local community.

Full Story and Images coming soon.

For more information on the Give and Gain day please click below.

National Give and Gain Day

SERS Ltd are pleased to announce that they have secured a new CESP contract with RCT (Rhondda – Cynon- Taff) homes starting in August 2011. The 300 non-traditional homes in Fernhill and Penywaun are to receive external wall insulation as part of works funded by Scottish and Southern Energy. The contract totalling around £3 million is in addition to a scheme which was started in May 2011 in the Aberdare area.

To read the full story and details on the benefits of external wall insulation please click below.

RCT CESP Scheme

Careful planning, organisation and a team contribution from site staff have allowed SERS Ltd to prevent 40m3 of polystyrene external wall insulation boards going to landfill; instead it’s been recycled! The insulation board, which was offcuts from a site based in Newark, filled an articulated lorry when it was recovered by the manufacturer.  81 properties in Newark have benefitted from the installation of external wall insulation as part of the Government backed funding scheme CESP (Community Energy Saving Programme).

To read more on this story and external wall insulation please click below.

Newark Recycling Case Study

Between November 2010 and March 2011 SERS Ltd successfully secured approximately £5 million of arbed funding, which led to 569 homes, in a number of regions throughout Wales having External Wall Insulation installed.

To read the full story and learn more about arbed funding and external wall insulation (solid wall rendering) and its benefits, please click below.

Arbed Funding Case Study

SERS recently made a commitment to offer the opportunity of  a total of 52 weeks unwaged work experience to assist those getting back into work. This has quickly turned into waged opportunities, and has enabled SERS to employ a number of local External Wall Insulation operatives to work on a scale bigger than they ever imagined. To read the full story and find out more information on External Wall Insulation please click below.

External Wall Insulation Apprentices and Job Openings Case Study