An innovative research project led by Wheatley Group, one of Scotland's largest housing groups, aims to transform future social housing construction and reduce tenant energy bills. The Scottish-first trial is being conducted at Wheatley's new Shandwick Street development in Easterhouse, Glasgow, in partnership with MAST Architects and construction firm CCG.

The project involves six newly constructed homes, each designed, built, and insulated using different technological methods. These six properties will be closely monitored for energy consumption and efficiency over a one-year period to assess whether they meet or surpass current Passivhaus standards. The findings and insights gained from this research will be shared with the Scottish Government and the wider housing sector to help shape future new housing regulatory standards in Scotland.

Lindsay Lauder, Director of Development and Regeneration at Wheatley Group, stated: "As the largest provider of social housing in Scotland, we have an important role to play exploring new thinking and technology to address the issue of rising fuel bills. Each of the six properties in the research have received unique enhancements, including upgraded fabrics for insulation, enhanced levels of airtightness, and a reduction in the levels of non-repeat thermal bridging."

He added: "The results will be shared with Scottish Government and the wider sector to help shape future new build housing, not only for Wheatley and its tenants but for all tenants of new build affordable homes in Scotland."

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This initiative comes as the Scottish Government plans to introduce a new Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard, an internationally recognised benchmark for energy performance in buildings that aims to minimise the need for space heating and cooling.

Wheatley Group, which owns and manages over 64,000 homes for social rent, including those under Scotland's largest social landlord Wheatley Homes Glasgow, was recognised in 2024 as the UK's biggest builder of social housing over the preceding decade.

To ensure a robust research framework, Wheatley and MAST Architects commissioned Dr Richard Atkins, a leading environmental and sustainability architect, to develop a report detailing the technical standards to be applied to the six pilot homes. Dr Atkins commented: "The intention is that a rigorous quality assurance process is carried out during construction of the blocks, like those undertaken on Passivhaus projects, to ensure the houses are constructed as designed. This will ensure the performance gap, which often exists between buildings as designed and constructed, is minimised and to also understand any additional requirements this poses on the project team."

These six research homes are part of a larger new-build development in Easterhouse, which comprises 47 new two-storey houses and cottage flats built by CCG for Wheatley Homes Glasgow for social rent. Construction of the pilot houses was completed in March 2025.

CCG Managing Director, David Wylie, highlighted the project's significance: "In light of recent regulatory and statutory changes, coupled with material and cost inflation, making affordable housing affordable has never been more challenging. With a focus on a just net zero transition and the potential introduction of the Scottish Passivhaus Equivalent, this research is incredibly important to understanding how enhanced building standards can be practically delivered at scale, while continuing to address localised housing needs. We share Wheatley's enthusiasm and foresight and look forward to working with them and MAST Architects in the months ahead."

Wheatley Group is also a key partner in a Scottish Government working group, established in June 2023, tasked with defining the new Scottish Passivhaus equivalent. Architects FBN Passivhaus conducted the Passivhaus calculations for the project's pre-consultation report, with further reports expected to be published as the research progresses.