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What We Learned from Preparing '4 Streets in Hove' for a Greener Future
The Carbon Neutral Communities (CNC) project, led by Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-op (BHESCo), sought to implement retrofit measures at scale, empowering residents to invest in energy efficiency improvements for their homes, lowering their heating bills and carbon emissions, with the aspiration of achieving lower costs per household by working together.
BHESCo provided the retrofit co-ordination service, delivering quality control in the service design. The second part of the programme offered community-owned solar energy. This report summarises the project’s approach, goals, lessons, and conclusions.
What We Did
Starting with a citywide competition, CNC invited neighbourhoods across Brighton & Hove to rally their communities, form local action groups and commit to energy transformation.
The ‘4 Streets in Hove’ neighbourhood was selected as winners, following an excellent entry which highlighted the strength and dynamism of their community.
The project aimed to create a scalable model for communities to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Specifically, CNC focused on two primary objectives:
Retrofit Homes: Improve energy efficiency by reducing draughts, enhancing insulation, and preparing homes for future technologies like heat pumps.
Community Solar Installation: Install solar panels on suitable roofs creating a community network to reduce vulnerability to electricity price shocks and prepare for increased future needs, such as electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
What We Learned Along the Way
Every ambitious project brings lessons, and CNC has uncovered invaluable insights:
Communities Need Time and Upskilling
The competition structure required communities to form focus groups to drive local interest and participation. While this approach succeeded in sparking initial interest, it became evident that the limited response time hindered inclusion, especially within marginalised communities that are more challenging to engage.
The Focus Group played a critical role, managing outreach, facilitating door-to-door engagement, and distributing project materials. However, training gaps in areas such as door-knocking techniques and project knowledge impacted their effectiveness in communicating information about the project to their neighbours.
Committed local groups are vital to driving enthusiasm and participation, but we discovered that they needed time to form and more training to succeed. Enthusiasm goes a long way but more training in effective outreach techniques and tailored communications to bring their neighbours on board could have amplified their impact. Areas with high levels of rental properties may be particularly challenging.
Invitation leaflet to the community launch event of the programme
Tailored Solutions Work Best
The retrofit phase categorised homes into property archetypes to streamline assessment and to recommend suitable energy efficiency measures for a cluster of similar properties. Although the housing archetypes helped address common structural characteristics, households often required specific information, leading some to drop out due to perceived cost, anticipated disruption, or inadequate understanding of the benefit of recommended measures.
Financial barriers and lack of effective government grants (such as the Great British Insulation Scheme or ECO4) restricted broader accessibility, effectively excluding lower income participants. Despite these challenges, households valued the technical advice BHESCo provided, and the process highlighted the need for more tailored communication and consistent support to build homeowner confidence.
Address perceived barriers quickly
The main reasons for dropping out of the programme were perceived costs, anticipated disruption, or inadequate understanding of the benefit of recommended measures. Customised recommendations that directly address barriers and clear financial guidance are essential to keeping residents engaged.
Solar Power is a Community Effort
BHESCo worked with One Zero to prepare the quotes for solar photovoltaic systems, including battery storage. The neighbourhood rooftops were not ideal, primarily due to architectural constraints, like small roofs with limited capacity or flat roofs that proved difficult to insure.
A key barrier to maximising the solar generation capacity in the neighbourhood was the inability to onboard larger entities (e.g., schools, businesses) that could have provided larger rooftop space, thereby improving the economies of scale for the smaller installations. There is still a strong resistance to taking action on local electricity generation, even when the funding and technical barriers are removed.
Despite these challenges, BHESCo prepared an offer to residents that presents them with the opportunity to have a solar PV system, including battery storage for no upfront cost. Homeowners taking up this offer will pay a price for the electricity generated by the solar array, while earning income from the electricity they export from their system.
Flexibility in Communication Channels
The project utilised the Fairerwarmth app to centralise data and streamline communication, expecting the app to facilitate community engagement. However, user adoption was low, especially among older people who found it difficult to use and couldn’t see the value of using the app.
Many participants preferred communication channels like WhatsApp, and the Fairerwarmth app’s lack of mobile compatibility further hindered its utility. More training sessions and flexible, alternative options could improve digital engagement, however it remains to be seen how the Fairerwarmth app would save time and improve project engagement due to the complexities of use
Not everyone connects through the same digital tools. While apps like Fairerwarmth have promise, we found user adoption to be low, particularly with older participants. We found traditional platforms like WhatsApp were more effective, meeting residents where they already are instead of trying to get them to use something new.
Government Grants are Needed to Address Financial Barriers
Financial barriers and lack of effective government grants (such as the Great British Insulation Scheme or ECO4) restricted broader accessibility, effectively excluding lower income participants.
Moving Forward: Recommendations for Success
Here’s how future projects can supercharge community engagement for decarbonisation:
Start Early, Go Big
The main reasons for dropping out were perceived costs, anticipated disruption, or inadequate understanding of the benefit of recommended measures. Customised recommendations that directly address barriers and clear financial guidance are essential to keeping residents engaged.
Give neighbourhoods plenty of time to build momentum, form connections, and plan thoroughly.
Train to Empower
While the Focus Group strategy generated strong community bonds, training in project communication and role-specific assignments could improve consistency and reduce burnout among key focus group members. Regular meetings could support momentum and strengthen accountability, keeping participants informed about project progress and next steps.
Equip neighbourhood groups with the skills and confidence to inspire their neighbours and sustain enthusiasm.
A community meeting as part of an ‘Eco Open Homes’ event
Think Beyond the Home
Future projects must engage larger community spaces, such as schools or businesses, to unlock greater potential.
Engage schools, businesses, and larger community stakeholders to maximise solar potential and scale impact.
Communicate Smarter
The challenges with Fairerwarmth highlight the need for versatile digital tools that accommodate varied technological comfort levels. Training sessions could familiarise focus groups with the benefits of digital tools, while supplementary materials could be offered in print and web-based formats
Use a mix of digital and traditional methods to ensure no one is left behind.
Why This Matters
The CNC programme proves that we’re stronger together. By working as a community, we can transform homes, reduce energy bills, and fight climate change—all while building stronger connections with our neighbours.
This is just the beginning. As we refine this model, the dream of decarbonising homes and creating resilient communities becomes more attainable for everyone.
Join us on this journey! Let’s build a future that’s cleaner, greener, and brighter for all.
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