This month, we highlight Carbon3, a renewable energy specialist delivering solar PV, air source heat pumps, EV charging and battery storage to the social housing sector. Carbon3 joined the SPF to connect with the contractors, consultants and housing providers they work alongside, to contribute to the forum's collaborative culture, and to remain closely connected to the policy developments and sector challenges at the heart of their work. We sat down with Dean Wincott, Director of Strategic Partnerships, and Arianna Lee, Marketing Manager at Carbon3, to find out more about their work in the social housing sector and what they hope to bring to the SPF.

Carbon3 is a renewable energy specialist for the social housing sector, delivering end-to-end decarbonisation from design and installation to ongoing maintenance. Their services include solar PV, air source heat pumps, EV charging, and battery storage. Carbon3's expertise, 93 staff, apprenticeship scheme, and offices in Tamworth and Kent support their ambitious impact.

Arianna Lee, Marketing Manager at Carbon3, explains more: "For the social housing sector, we provide a full renewable energy decarbonisation service from design and installation through to ongoing monitoring and maintenance of our core products: solar PV, air source heat pumps, EV chargers and battery storage.

“We can help at any stage of the project, offering advice around funding applications, design to EPC targets and help get those SAP scores. It is all part of the specialist package."

Dean Wincott, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Carbon3, adds: "We are a flexible business and we’re clear where we sit in the retrofit picture. Because we’re such a specialist in renewables, we work directly with clients, often in partnership with consultants and contractors, to install, maintain, service and ensure stock is performing safely and efficiently. In fact, we’re in a unique position that other contractors and consultants often recommend us to their clients!"

Renewables done right

Carbon3 do not carry out insulation and building works, but they are the specialists you bring in once the fabric is ready, or where renewables offer the most cost-effective route to hitting EPC targets.

Dean continues: “About 25% of our work is with other service providers, subcontracted to deliver on Warm Homes plans or large-scale retrofit as the renewable energy specialists. Or we work directly with clients on their recommendation to deliver on solar PV or air source heat pump programmes as a specialist contractor.”

"Most people are coming around to the idea of renewables now," says Arianna. "They understand what the point of renewables is, but not necessarily how best to deploy and maintain them. Assets can already be a bit of a headache for some housing providers, so we try to take that off their shoulders, particularly with our maintenance service. Whether we install the technology or not, we create and manage asset registers so landlords can be assured everything is safe and compliant."

Monitoring, Maintenance and Proactive Repairs

Carbon3 uses its own IoT-based monitoring platform to keep a real-time eye on the systems they manage, with automatic alerts sent to both Carbon3 and the client if anything changes. Critically, their maintenance team operates entirely separately from their installation teams, allowing them to address problems quickly.

Dean explains: "Many asset management teams are unclear on what solar they already have. It may have come over from new developments, ad-hoc solar PV or major refurbishment programmes running across their housing stock, and they do not know if it is safe, compliant or efficient. What we do from a maintenance perspective is bring it all together, regardless of who installed it, add our sensors, put it on one IT platform so they can see everything, and then make sure it is safe, compliant and performing efficiently.

“All of these three things will also create revenue and return on your investment."

Arianna continues: “We were recently out checking existing PV systems for a housing provider that we did not install, and there were some we had to condemn because they simply were not safe. You would not know from looking at them, but the risk was there.”

"As with most systems, there is an annual servicing requirement for solar PV, but monitoring means we can catch any problems before they become a bigger problem," says Arianna. "Equally, if we can see that performance has not dropped, there is not necessarily a need to physically check the panels every year. We can move to a three- or five-year basis instead, depending on what the housing association wants to.”

Monitoring all renewable energy sources

The same model applies to their air source heat pump and EV charging work. Dean highlights a familiar problem when it comes to heat pumps: "The same annual servicing requirements apply to heat pumps, so many housing providers look to their existing heating contracts to maintain the systems. These are often set up for gas boilers, but the technology is not the same, and a gas engineer cannot service an air source heat pump without specialist training. A perfect example is a situation we’ve just had with a large housing provider in London: an air source heat pump had broken down; they called their existing service provider, who was unable to fix the problem. It went back and forth for weeks before someone called us to help. What clients need is either a gas servicing contractor with that specialism, or to bring in heat pump specialists like us from the outset."

EV Charging, Battery Storage and Flexible Funding

Carbon3's EV charging offer is having a really positive impact on communities.

Arianna explains: "A lot of housing providers have legacy chargers, and they do not know where the electricity is even being taken from, or who is being billed. This can be costing, rather than saving money. In the same way we monitor solar PV and heat pumps, we install sensors onto new or existing charging points and add them to our system. Our platform gives complete visibility of where that energy is coming from and also how well the charging stations are used. There is also the option to put different pricing tariffs for different user groups. For example, residents can charge for free to encourage them to move to electric cars, charge the public a little to make a profit, and charge their own fleet at cost. It also generates a full ESG report so the housing provider or local authority can see the top-level picture across all of their chargers in one go."

Dean adds: "Through our work with Gravesham Council, we’ve delivered them a borough-wide monitoring platform that tracks usage, revenue and performance across all charging points, identifying where chargers are not working or are underused and can be relocated. They have been able to offer Kent Police discounted rates at charging points in areas with high anti-social behaviour, effectively creating a visible deterrent through a practical, community-focused solution.  And the whole council has moved to a completely 100% electric fleet.  That is the kind of impact this technology can have when it is properly managed."

Helping with fuel poverty

On battery storage, Arianna is equally enthusiastic about its potential as a fuel poverty measure: "Even without solar, residents can charge a battery at off-peak rates and deploy that energy when it is more expensive. Combined with solar, it gives residents much more control over their energy costs. A lot of people are not home during daylight hours, so storing free, solar generated energy rather than exporting it back to the grid at a lower rate makes a real difference. It is a huge fuel poverty measure, and we have seen it make a real impact."

"It definitely is a cost for housing providers," Arianna acknowledges, "but we are working with Saxon Weald at the moment and, after we invited them into our Energy Academy and explained the benefits for residents, they have decided to roll out battery and solar. We can help people see that it is worthwhile."

For clients where upfront capital is a barrier, Carbon3 can also offer Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) funding, enabling free installation of solar in return for residents or housing providers purchasing the generated electricity at a significantly reduced rate. "It is more like energy security, really," Dean says. "And it is becoming more popular as people see the benefits." Arianna adds that there is also flexibility built in: "If a client does raise the capital later, there is the option to early exit the agreement with a balloon payment, depending on what makes sense for the housing provider."

Building skills for the future

Carbon3 is acutely aware of the skills gap in the renewables sector and is taking active steps to address it. They currently have 20 apprentices (an impressive 21% of their workforce) working across their office and site teams, with four having graduated in the past year and moved into more senior roles within the business.

"It is really difficult to retrain a gas engineer as an air source heat pump engineer, or an electrician as a solar PV installer," Dean explains. "So we focus on new entrants to the industry and train them from the very beginning, specifically for those roles. Each apprentice goes out as part of a team of three, learning hands-on in a supervised environment. When they graduate, a new apprentice joins, and the cycle continues. Many of our apprentices are from areas where they might not have had many other options in terms of work, so it is really important to us to give them the start of a brilliant career."

Carbon3 has been running its own Energy Academy since earlier this year, a dedicated training centre where apprentices can practise installations, and where clients, contractors and consultants are invited to see what best practice looks like in person. "A lot of clients do not really know what good looks like," says Dean. "Being able to show them and explain why we are strict on certain quality elements makes working together much easier. It matters."

Why the Service Provider Forum?

For Carbon3, the SPF offered a natural fit: a collaborative space to work alongside contractors, consultants and housing providers of all sizes, and to share expertise on getting the most from renewable technologies. As Dean explains, "We are flexible in how we work. Whether that is through a main contractor, alongside a housing association's own DLO team, or directly as an advisor, we can add value at every level. The Service Provider Forum brings all of those people together in one place, and that is exactly where we want to be.

"It’s the ethos of the SPF that’s really important. In contrast to many industry events where attendees are largely passive recipients of a series of presentations, the Service Provider Forum actively encourages open dialogue and collective problem-solving. Members raise questions, contribute their perspectives and leave with tangible actions. It is a true forum in that sense, and the reason I was keen to return as a member with Carbon3 and back to the committee too.”

"I think it is a great way to keep up with the trends," adds Arianna. "When damp and mould rose so rapidly up the sector's agenda, the ability to respond quickly was essential. Remaining closely connected to emerging issues and policy developments will be invaluable to us as a business.”

Amy Boothman, Acting Chair of the NHMF Service Provider Forum, comments: "We are delighted to welcome Carbon3 to the SPF. Their unique expertise across the full spectrum of renewable technologies, alongside their strong focus on maintenance, monitoring and resident outcomes, makes them both a valuable addition to our community and a fantastic resource for our members. We’re also delighted that Dean has recently rejoined the SPF committee, bringing with him his experience and enthusiasm for the forum's work. A welcome return! The forum thrives on members who want to contribute and share knowledge, and it is clear that Carbon3 is here to do exactly that."

For more information on Carbon3, visit: www.carbon3.co.uk

For more information on the NHMF Service Provider Forum, visit: www.nhmf.co.uk/serviceproviderforum