How to retrofit home your home

Reap all the benefits of a warm, well-ventilated, healthy home by taking a whole house approach...

- JACK WOODFIELD

Retrofitting helps to improve a property's energy efficiency by upgrading the building fabric and adding new technology. It can save you money on energy bills, and significantly reduce your home's carbon footprint. Your home will have comfortable, even temperatures all year round, with no draughts, mould or condensation problems.

There are different ways to retrofit a house, varying from single-room improvements to whole-house retrofits, but they all aim to increase your energy efficiency. This focus on efficiency is why retrofitting differs from renovating or making cosmetic improvements. Several industry groups believe retrofitting the country's housing stock is essential, especially if the UK is to reach net-zero by 2050, which is why many groups are currently campaigning for a national retrofit strategy to be introduced to help provide a roadmap.

WHAT IS RETROFITTING?

Chayley Collis and Bill Butcher from Green Building Store explain: “It is more than just renovating a building and involves more substantial changes to make it much more energy-efficient.”

Retrofitting typically involves a significant improvement in the thermal performance and comfort of your home, as well as the building fabric. Paul Testa of Paul Testa Architecture adds: “Retrofitting is multi-faceted and can include insulating roofs, walls, and floors; replacement windows; improved ventilation design; airtightness works and more efficient heating and hot water systems. Renewables are also often installed during retrofits.”

DOES YOUR HOUSE NEED RETROFITTING?

There are very few homes that wouldn't benefit from retrofit work, especially old solid wall construction buildings like Victorian terraced houses.

There are many ways of evaluating your home's energy efficiency: