AN IRVINE based company are to carry out a £3.5million energy performance upgrade to over 100 homes across the Scotland.

Green Home Systems, based in the industrial estate in the town's Ailsa Road, are to deliver the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) funded programe -  which is the UK Government’s flagship energy efficiency policy.

This aims to tackle fuel poverty and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in housing by providing free or heavily subsidised energy efficiency upgrades to homeowners and private tenants.

This latest project comes after the successful £1m pilot of the programme by the Irvine based company in the last quarter of 2022.

It will see Green Home Systems fully launch the programme throughout at least the first six months of 2023 and it is expected to benefit more than 100 family homes across the nation.

The types of measures that will be installed include roof, wall and floor insulation alongside air-source heat pumps, solar panels and SMART heating controls.

Once installed, these measures will drastically reduce the amount of energy required to adequately heat the homes, and lower the occupants’ utility bills and carbon footprint.

During the initial trial, the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of each of the participating homes increased to the top bands of A or B which demonstrates that these properties are now highly efficient.

The annual average energy bill decreased by £2,079 for each household, and a total of 120 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year was abated as a result of the project.

Irvine based Green Home Systems was established in 2014 and has completed over 16,500 energy efficiency projects to date - which has lifted more than 7,000 families out of fuel poverty.

Alastair Macphie, managing director at the company, said they are delighted this project has continued following its pilot last year.

He commented: “We are proud to extend our partnership with OVO Energy and help them deliver the ECO4 programme on behalf of the UK Government.

"Following the successful completion of our pilot project in 2022, this new and expanded programme will allow us to ramp up delivery to households who need it most.

"Having worked with OVO for many years we are delighted they have again chosen Green Home Systems as their local delivery partner.”

Graeme Kerr, Sales Director at Green Home Systems, added:“ECO4 provides an excellent opportunity for Scottish households to reduce their energy use and lower utility costs.

"The grant funding is available to both private owner-occupied households and private tenants where at least one resident in the home receives a qualifying state benefit.

"However, we are also now working very closely with selected local authorities to identify those who are most vulnerable, but don’t receive a qualifying benefit, to maximise the ECO Flex mechanism and ensure the widest possible support is available for struggling households.

"We are willing to open this Flex opportunity up to new local authorities and welcome all enquiries to do so.”

It is not clear how many homes, if any, will benefit in the company's own local authority of North Ayrshire.