NHER (National Home Energy Rating)
The national home energy rating operates on a scale of 0 to 10 (with being the most efficient) and enables a comparison between homes. The main aim of NHER is to produce accurate running costs by calculating total fuel per square meter.( e.g. cost of cooking, light etc)
The NHER of the housing stock has improved from a median score of 4.1 in the 1996 SHCS to 6.0 in 2002. The greatest improvement has been in local authority sector, and the least in the private rented sector.
An 80 m² flat (2 bedroom) with an NHER rating of 5 (Scottish Housing Quality Standard) would cost £12.50 a week for all fuels. On benefit level income a single person under 25 receives £44.05, a married couple receives £87.30 a single parent with one dependent child receives £114.02 and a single pensioner £105.45.
Key findings for the SHCS for Glasgow are:
- 9% (24,000 units) of Glasgow’s Housing stock is poor compared to 13% (9,000 units) for Dundee, 12% (11,000 units) for Aberdeen, 7% (15,000 units) for Edinburgh, and 8% (176,000) units for Scotland. 14% of Scotland’s poor NHER houses are in Glasgow.
- The largest proportion of NHER poor houses in Glasgow (13%) were built within the 1965 – 1982 age group. The poorest stock type is MS blocks with 18% being NHER poor. The poorest tenure is private rented with 20% being NHER poor. 17% of single adults live in NHER poor houses.
- In the social rented sector 13% of GHA stock is NHER poor by comparison to 4% in the rest of the social rented sector.
- A lower proportion of GHA (61%) houses have full house central heating compared to other social rented (83%), owner occupied (85%), and private rented (66%). A much higher proportion of GHA houses rely on electric central heating (22%) than other tenures.
- There are 72,000 pre 1919 properties in Glasgow (27% of the housing stock) where it will be either extremely difficult or impossible to insulate external walls.
- Using the Executive’s definition of fuel poverty, 15% of households in Glasgow are in fuel poverty compared to 13% for the rest of Scotland.
© University of Strathclyde 2009