Future Ready Homes

Retrofit has lots of advantages – increasing comfort in your home (no annoying draughts), reducing your energy bills and your carbon emissions, and even improving your health where there have been damp and mould problems. Data from the housing market is starting to indicate that increasing the energy efficiency of your home increases its value, and this trend can be expected to accelerate as we move towards Net Zero.

An impartial ‘whole house’ retrofit plan, tailored to your home and to your individual needs, is the best place to start. The plan should identify the key areas which need to be addressed, what order to tackle them in, and what will provide best value for money. An individual installer of, for example, solar panels, may only be interested in your roof and won’t look at your floor, walls and windows. A whole house plan needn’t be tackled all at once, it can be broken down into manageable stages.

If you live in Herefordshire, you can apply to the Home Energy Savers scheme through Keep Herefordshire Warm.

Retrofit is adding something to or changing something in your home to improve its energy efficiency. Perhaps the best place to start with retrofit is improving your home’s ability to retain heat – so that your energy demand is reduced. The cheapest cleanest energy is the energy you don’t use. Hence you may prefer to deal with the fabric of your home (the roof, walls, windows, doors and floor) first, before doing things like changing the heating system.

Alternatively you may wish to prioritise reducing your carbon footprint as soon as possible. In which case, it may make sense to install a heat pump to replace your gas or oil boiler even before fabric improvements.

Solar panels can be installed at any time – so long as your roof is in good condition.

For Planning Permission, you may find the answer here:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/home-improvement

If your proposed works are covered by Building Regulations, you will need sign off. For measures such a solar panels or new windows, your installer would normally take care of this for you. Otherwise, your builder and/or architect should be able to advise you, or you can contact the Building Control department at your local council, or an approved inspector.

The Future Ready Homes Directory is a good place to start to find local trusted contractors. You will find retrofit installers, tradespeople and professionals who can help you improve the energy efficiency of your home and decarbonise your heat and power. It is advisable to speak to at least 3 different firms, ask to see examples of their previous work, and speak to previous customers. Visit the Directory: https://futurereadyhomes-directory.org.uk/

Solar panels generate clean green electricity at home where you use it, which is a great thing. Every roof is different so it is hard to generalise about if they are ‘worth’ the investment. A solar installer will calculate how much electricity the panels are likely to generate in a year – and how much money this would typically save you from your bill. It may be that your electricity consumption isn’t very high. If you are home during the day or can use the electricity as it is being generated, it may be that you don’t need a battery. Solar electricity can be diverted to charge an electric car battery, or heat water in your cylinder. For more information have a look at our excellent webinar here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDfEGcDX64o

Yes they are! Heat pumps work most efficiently when running at relatively low temperature (40-50 degrees flow temperature) and should be allowed to run constantly rather than being switched off and on. The quickest way to decarbonise your home is to replace your gas or oil boiler with a heat pump powered by green electricity. For more information have a look at our webinars on heat pumps here or a useful overview on how heat pumps work and who they’re suitable for here.

If your home was built before 1920 it’s likely to be solid wall construction, meaning it has no cavity. These walls need to ‘breathe’ and so it is advisable to use ‘vapour-open’ materials such as woodfibre insulation and lime plaster, and avoid materials like PIR board and standard gypsum plaster. Ty Mawr in Brecon are specialist suppliers of traditional building materials. If your home is modern cavity construction then it’s likely you can use whatever materials you like (vapour open or closed). Your architect or builder should be able to advise you, but do your own research. To learn more take a look at our webinar on retrofit materials here.

If you improve the insulation and air tightness of your home you must also improve the ventilation to prevent moisture build-up causing problems such as black mould. Draughts ventilate your home but are uncontrolled; controlled mechanical ventilation such as extractor fans in bathrooms and kitchens, or whole house MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) systems, are ideal. To learn more take a look at our webinar on airtightness and ventilation here.

Green Open Homes events are the ideal opportunity to do just this – and talk to householders who have completed retrofitting their homes. These events are typically held in September/ October but you can read case studies here

You can top up your loft insulation for a few hundred pounds or draughtproof your windows and doors for much less. But whole house retrofit is a costly investment, so it needs to be planned properly as part of the ongoing maintenance of your home. And it doesn’t have to be done all at once, it can be done in stages.

All householders in England and Wales can apply (through their installer) for a £7,500 grant towards the cost of a new heat pump through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. To be eligible you must own the property, you must be replacing an existing fossil fuel heating system and your home must have a valid EPC.

Insulation measures may be part funded by the Government’s new Great British Insulation Scheme.

For those on certain benefits or of limited means, help may be available through Government funded projects such as Sustainable Warmth – you can find out more and apply here

For Herefordshire visit Keep Herefordshire Warm

Banks and building societies are offering more and more ‘green mortgage’ products to encourage householders to retrofit their homes, a useful listing can be found here