Talking heat decarbonisation and flexibility with housing professionals

Authored by Dr Rowena Hay and Sabina Dewfield from Shortwork, with support from Helen at Carbon Co-op. Towards the end of our Project Heat Pump (Socialising Flexibility) project, we brought together a cross-sector professional workshop online, facilitated collaboratively by Shortwork and Carbon Co-op. The session brought together 17 participants, including the wider Carbon Co-op team, … Read more

Bringing the People to Project Heat Pump

People engaging with activity sheets as part of a participatory workshop.

Authored by Dr Rowena Hay and Sabina Dewfield from Shortwork, with support from Helen at Carbon Co-op. Project Heat Pump (Socialising Flexibility) was a two-year programme funded by Energy Redress and delivered by Carbon Co-op in partnership with Shortwork and Manchester City Council. The project explores how heat pumps are working in practice for social … Read more

Handover on Area Based Schemes 

Summer 2025 saw the much anticipated completion of construction works on homes in the first phase of the Levenshulme Area Based Scheme (LevABS). Whilst this was undoubtedly a big milestone for householders and partners, work doesn’t stop once tools are downed on-site, and we were keen to ensure that householders have the information they need … Read more

What Works in Community Energy Advice: Insights from Energise Manchester and Queen Bee

Between 2024 and 2025, Energise Manchester teamed up with Longsight’s Queen Bee group to deliver a series of practical energy advice workshops — designed with the community, for the community. The Queen Bee group is a women-only group based at Northmoor Community Centre, where women from mainly South Asian backgrounds meet regularly to share food, … Read more

Real-time Training: A Reflection

Carbon Co-op’s area-based retrofit project is upgrading a group of homes in Levenshulme, South Manchester, aiming to improve energy efficiency, keep bills low and reduce carbon emissions. The key contractor for the scheme, Stockport-based B4Box, are not only a contractor but also a training provider, who are using the experience of retrofitting traditional Victorian terraced … Read more