October 2022 digital edition

Retrofit
revolution
By Rebecca Harvey
Our homes use 35% of the UK’s energy and
produce 20% of its CO2 emissions. At the same
time, the UK faces its worst energy bill crisis in
at least 50 years – after rising living costs have
already squeezed people still reeling from the
2008 crash and austerity that followed.
The price cap freeze and £550 in support
to households recently announced by the UK
government have largely been welcomed, but
it’s a temporary measure; prices are projected to
remain high for several years.
In this context – and taking the climate
crisis into consideration – retrofitting looks
very appealing. When it comes to housing,
retrofitting adapts existing buildings so that
energy consumption and emissions are reduced,
resulting in a more comfortable and healthier
home with lower fuel bills. In the UK, Energy
Performance Certificates (EPCs) indicate the
energy efficiency of buildings, based on data
about its construction materials, heating systems
and insulation. Domestic EPCs are banded from
A to G, where A is the most energy-efficient; the
average energy efficiency rating for a dwelling in
England and Wales is band D.
Upgrade methods include improved
insulation, airtightness and ventilation, as
well as using appropriate heating and cooling
systems, renewable technologies and energyefficient
materials.
In September, two reports asked why the
government hasn’t been more supportive
of retrofit.
In Tackling the UK’s energy efficiency problem
– What the Truss government should learn
from other countries, from the Institute for
Government, Rosa Hodgkin and Tom Sasse
highlight how retrofit can make a real difference
to the UK energy crisis – but they note that it was
entirely absent from the prime minister’s plan.
“The UK’s homes and buildings are among
the least efficient in Europe, which is making
the crisis especially painful for households
and businesses,” they write. “Remarkably, the
Johnson government and now, seemingly, the
Truss government have ignored this so far. The
case for action is even stronger now that the
government will be taking such large energy
costs directly on to its balance sheet.”
This sentiment is echoed by Community
Energy England (CEE). “Government plans have
done nothing at all to correct the appalling
record of the Conservative government over
many years to address a key root cause of this
energy crisis by retrofitting our building stock –
Europe’s leakiest,” said a CEE spokesperson.
“Major investment in retrofit is something
that would genuinely improve domestic energy
security as well as domestic health, happiness
and economics. It would create employment,
and reduce carbon emissions. It would protect
property values, save huge health and welfare
costs as well as being electorally popular. A nobrainer,
you would think.”
In a second report, Train local, work local,
stay local: Retrofit, growth, and levelling up, the
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) urges
the government to look seriously at increasing
the pace of retrofit – and to help communities
in the process by training and employing a local
cohort of specialists.
“In a crisis like this, the government should be
pulling every possible policy lever available to it,
to reduce energy consumption, move away from
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