Let’s talk retrofit

According to 2022 research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), three-fifths of homes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have low energy efficiency ratings. In Scotland, 48% of homes have a low energy efficiency rating. This means they are expensive to run in these modern times of high energy bills.

Part of the problem is the majority of our homes were built a long time ago.

• 15% of homes in England and 23% of homes in Wales were built before 1900.
• 46% of homes in England and 39% of homes in Wales were built between 1930 and 1982.
• Only 7% of homes in England and 5% of homes in Wales were built after 2012 – these are more likely to be energy efficient.

Retrofitting is all about updating and improving properties to make them more energy efficient. It offers all sorts of benefits. This includes the potential to lower energy bills and boost the comfort of your home.

As a nation, the UK government has targeted we reach net zero emissions by 2050. So the importance of making plans for your home is likely to grow over the next few decades.

The Skipton Group helps nearly 1 in 10 people who buy and sell houses. We are one of the largest players in the UK housing market. This puts us in a strong position to support people in making their homes more energy efficient. For example, Skipton Building Society offers free EPC Plus reports to our 1.2 million members.

We are keen to explore new ways to offer practical guidance and demystify what it means to retrofit your home. That’s where the Regent Road retrofit comes in.

It’s estimated 27 million houses will need retrofitting to meet the UK government’s 2050 net zero target. Latest data suggests there are 29.9 million homes in the UK. In other words, nearly all of us will need to consider retrofitting our homes over the coming years.

We want to understand exactly what a retrofit involves by going through one. That way, our members can benefit from our experience.

The short answer is – everything we can. Retrofitting homes is a relatively new concept. And there are many perfectly good reasons why you might be put off considering taking steps with your own home. We want to learn about the blockers, challenges, costs, benefits and realities of retrofitting. And we want to pass on what we find out.

• How much does retrofitting really cost?
• Does retrofitting your home lead to lower energy bills?
• Will retrofitting boost your property’s value?
• How exactly do the retrofitting measures benefit the environment?

Our main goal is helping our members. But we want to dig a bit deeper into the retrofitting industry as a whole. This includes understanding the experiences of those who deliver retrofitting services. From contractors to assessors to architects. We’re keen to give the professionals a voice too, so we can build up a more rounded picture.

We will use the findings to help inform how we could support our customers with decarbonising their homes. Where we think it can bring about wider positive change, we’ll also share insights with bodies, government and policy makers.

We’re proud to be partnering with Leeds Beckett and Leeds universities. Their experts are performing tests on the property before and after the retrofit. They are measuring the heat loss and air tightness of the Regent Road property (known as “fabric tests”), to see what difference the retrofit measures make.

We’re also working with trusted experts, both within the Skipton Group and around the industry. This includes Vibrant, which is owned by Connells Limited, part of the Skipton Group. Vibrant has completed an EPC Plus Report on the property. From there, we will work with contractors to carry out the retrofit work.

We will share the key steps of the retrofit journey with you, so you can see what we learn and the difference it makes.

Work began in November 2023. This is when the first fabric tests were completed. Over the first half of 2024, we worked with designers and specialists to create a retrofit design proposal.

The retrofit work itself will take place over the second half of 2024. When it’s ready, researchers will return to perform post-retrofit fabric tests. They will provide a final report of their findings in early 2025.

Yes. When selecting contractors to deliver the retrofit, we’ve strived to use local businesses where we can. For example, we’re working a Preston-based architect. Leeds Beckett and Leeds universities are leading the research. We’re also working with a Keighley-based building contractors to deliver the retrofit works.

An architect might need to be involved if you are choosing to retrofit your home at the same time as other renovation or extension activity, but it isn’t the only option. It very much depends on whether you know where to start, how much time you have available, and how confident you feel.

There are new businesses starting that help people cut through the noise when it comes to retrofits. In our case, we've been working closely with Retrogreen.

Retrogreen provides you with a 'With You All The Way' home retrofit service. They handhold you right from the start of the journey to completion.

• You can understand what measures are right for you and your property, plus the benefits and costs.
• They then visit your home and assess your property and prepare all the documents required to obtain competitive quotes.
• They introduce you to pre-qualified TrustMark registered contractors who can undertake all of the work and then check afterwards it has been done properly.

Equally, it is possible to manage a retrofit yourself – there are plenty of companies that can help with specific measures like cavity wall, loft insulation installation and solar panels. The work can be staggered and undertaken at your own pace.

At Skipton we are doing a whole home retrofit, so installing lots of different measures at the same time. We’re also doing the work within a short time frame, which could be quite disruptive for a typical homeowner. For these reasons we have also worked with a specialist energy efficiency architecture firm (Energy Conscious Designs) to keep it running smoothly.