Are you thinking of retrofitting your home?
‘Retrofitting homes’ means different things to different people, depending on what you want to achieve and how to do it. Sometimes it happens, through home maintenance such as having your boiler replaced when it is not repairable, or through improvements including extending or refurbishing your home.
You may have different motivations for making changes to your home. This might be a blend of improving comfort (warmer in winter, cooler in summer, less draughty), reducing the cost of utility bills, or reducing carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change. Or perhaps there are issues with damp, condensation or mould or you wish to improve your home’s value. Be clear on what you want to achieve to help ensure you get the outcome you want.
There are ‘rules of thumb’ to keep in mind, but it is the detail of what your home is like now which will impact on the choice of measures (i.e. what’s retrofitted) and the materials used, and therefore its success.
Insulation and draught proofing
Ideally you should focus on ‘fabric’ upgrades first, for example through improving the insulation and draughtproofing of walls, floors, roof, windows and doors. This will help to retain warmth better in winter, so reducing energy consumption and emissions, and may well also keep your costs down.
Ventilation
Have you encountered the phrase ‘seal tight, ventilate right’? As construction methods have changed over time homes have become increasingly airtight and so better at retaining warmth. But moisture levels can then become problematic if they aren’t managed with suitable, controlled ventilation. Making sure you ensure good moisture management is critical.
Energy
Heating, hot water and energy generation options are normally considered after a home’s fabric has been improved, because improving insulation will often reduce the heat needed and the financial outlay of a replacement heating system.
Solar photovoltaic panels (solar PV) and battery storage are a good option for many and are much more popular now than solar thermal systems that heat stored water, as they are easier and, therefore, cheaper to maintain.
Energy Performance Certificates
If you need inspiration, Energy Performance Certificates provide a relative measure on a home’s performance. These can be a retrofit starting point as they include some upgrade options and carbon emissions information. Cambridge City Council provide a handy advice guide freely available online which is well worth a look. It’s written in an accessible way and goes into some depth. www.cambridge.gov.uk/media/11677/retrofitting-your-home-report-non-accessible-version.pdf.
Find out more
‘Open house’ events are an opportunity to see homes where owners have retrofitted. The Visit a Heat Pump website is a great resource, especially for homes moving away from fossil fuels or those with older electric heating and hot water systems. www.visitaheatpump.com/
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme from the Government currently provides grants for low carbon household heating systems such as heat pumps. www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme/what-you-can-get
The national Warmer Homes Programme offers free funding to homeowners if their property does not use mains gas for heating, to help improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The amount of funding available could be up to £38,000 depending on the type of property and what measures are suitable. But hurry, applications close at the end of October.
https://www.warmerhomes.org.uk/programme
Horsham District Council is working to see how we can best support owner occupiers and private landlords with retrofitting their homes. The target for the Horsham District is to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which is the same as the national target. Please visit the web address below for more information, including links to funding schemes and some great ideas on how to save energy without it having to cost too much.
www.horsham.gov.uk/climate-and-environment/energy-saving
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