Next Energy & Southway Housing Trust support warmer, healthier homes across Greater Manchester

At a time when social housing providers are focused on improving the quality, comfort and energy efficiency of homes for residents, Next Energy and Southway Housing Trust are working together to deliver practical improvements that make a real difference to people’s day-to-day lives.

As part of Southway Housing Trust’s wider Warm Homes Programme, which is delivering energy efficiency improvements to 1,500 homes across Greater Manchester, AirEx Smart Bricks are being installed in 450 properties to help improve comfort, reduce heat loss and maintain effective ventilation.

The initiative reflects a shared commitment to creating warmer, healthier homes while improving the long-term sustainability of housing stock. By focusing on measures that deliver tangible benefits for residents, the programme is helping to enhance living conditions while supporting wider energy efficiency ambitions.

Many of the homes benefiting from the improvements are older properties with suspended timber floors that rely on traditional air bricks to ventilate sub-floor spaces and help prevent issues such as damp and mould. While these vents play an important role in protecting the building fabric, they can also allow significant levels of cold air to circulate beneath homes, contributing to heat loss and colder internal temperatures.

To address this challenge, AirEx Smart Bricks were selected as part of the programme. The intelligent ventilation technology automatically regulates airflow beneath the property, helping to reduce unwanted draughts while maintaining the ventilation needed to protect against moisture-related issues.

The solution provided a practical and minimally disruptive way to improve homes, allowing installations to be completed quickly and efficiently while minimising inconvenience for residents.

The project has already demonstrated positive results, with the technology shown to improve EPC performance, increase SAP points and reduce whole-house heat loss by up to 12 per cent. Most importantly, the improvements are helping residents enjoy warmer, more comfortable homes throughout the year.

Darren Taylor, Site Manager at Next Energy, said:

“At the heart of every Warm Homes project is the resident, and that’s exactly what this programme has delivered. We’re proud to be working alongside Southway Housing Trust to help create warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes for residents across Greater Manchester. While the installation itself is relatively simple, the impact can be significant. By helping homes retain more heat and improving living conditions, we’re supporting residents while also helping Southway achieve its wider housing and sustainability ambitions. This project demonstrates how targeted improvements can make a real difference to people’s everyday lives, and we’re delighted to be playing a part in that.”

Lee Balfour, Head of Sales at AirEx Technologies Ltd, said:

“It has been great working with Southway Housing Trust and seeing such a strong focus on resident outcomes through its retrofit programme. Next Energy has been fantastic to work with throughout the project. The team has delivered an excellent standard of installation and demonstrated the capability to successfully deliver projects at scale while maintaining a positive experience for residents.”

Shane Gallimore, Retrofit Building Surveyor at Southway Housing Trust, added:

“When we were looking at ways to improve our homes, we wanted solutions that our residents would genuinely notice in their everyday lives. AirEx was chosen because it helps address heat loss while being quick and easy to install, causing minimal disruption for tenants. We’re delivering these improvements through our Warm Homes Programme, which supports our wider ambition to ensure all our homes meet the Decent Homes Standard and achieve an EPC rating of C or above. These improvements can help residents enjoy warmer homes and potentially reduce energy usage.”

By helping homes retain more heat while maintaining effective ventilation, the programme is supporting greater comfort for residents and reducing some of the factors that can contribute to cold and damp living conditions.

The AirEx installations form part of Southway Housing Trust’s wider Warm Homes Programme, helping to ensure homes are fit for the future while supporting the organisation’s ambition to provide high-quality, energy-efficient homes for residents across Greater Manchester.