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What is a home retrofit?
What does a home retrofit mean?
A home retrofit refers to actions that can be taken to improve the energy efficiency of an existing property. You might want improve efficiency to lower your energy bills, or perhaps reduce the impact of your home on the climate.
Benefits of retrofitting your home could include:
Lower energy usage or less wasted energy.
Feeling cosier in winter, with better insulation.
A home that's more desirable to prospective buyers.
A more sustainable home, with lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Reduced risk of damp and mould, by eliminating cold spots and ventilating properly.
New homes are generally more energy efficient than older ones, because they have been built to modern building standards that place a greater emphasis on using materials and construction methods that help reduce heat loss and make them easier to warm up.
Older homes, depending on when they were built, will often be less energy efficient. The good news is that making changes to add, or retrofit, energy saving technology or features can make them more efficient.
The actions you can take will depend on the property. Some are relatively cheap, and possible to do yourself, like adding draught excluders. Others, like solar panels, will cost more money upfront and need professional installers. However, they could represent bigger energy savings over the longer term.
What are the retrofit steps?
The steps and timings will depend on your property and what improvements you make. In general, steps include:
- Understand how energy efficient your home is. Your Energy Performance Certificate EPC will tell you how efficient it is and highlight actions you could take to make it more efficient. Or you could use our free Home Energy Plan to get suggestions. Simply add your postcode to begin.
- Home survey. It helps to know what you might want to do but a professional energy assessor will be able to give you tailored suggestions based on their assessment of your home and how you use energy. The same assessor may be able to produce an new EPC certificate for your property once the work has been done.
- Find tradespeople. From insulation to solar panels, it's important to find experts to carry out complex work. Trustmark could help you find someone near you with the skills.
- Paying for the work. You might be in a position to fund it all yourself. If not, take a look at the ways we could help. You can also check if you're eligible for any grants or help.
You don’t need to do everything in one go, but it is sensible to tackle it in the order recommended by your energy assessor. For example, ensuring your home is well insulated before making bigger investments in a new heating system.
Home improvement ideas for popular property types
We've identified the five most common types of property in the UK and suggested how you could make them more energy efficient. Even if you don’t find your exact house type, the tips can apply to many different types of homes. You should speak with a qualified expert to understand the changes you could make to your home.
Pre-1919 Victorian mid-terrace
Typical EPC rating without improvements: D or E
For this type of home, the main suggestion is wall insulation. Old buildings can be draughty so keep the warmth in and your house will feel toastier for longer. Solar panels and solar heating are a more sustainable way to generate energy, rather than just preventing it from escaping. Or if you’re looking for an easier first step then swap to low-energy lightbulbs.
It's possible to move properites like this to an EPC rating of C or B.
How much energy could top improvements save?
- Solar panels: up to 43% per year.
- Wall insulation: up to 24% per year.
- Low-energy lighting: up to 4% per year.
Suggestions based on data from Energy Performance of Buildings Register, September 2021.
Mid-century detached
Typical EPC rating without improvements: range of B - E
These types of properties don’t lose as much heating from the walls, so focus more on how to bring energy into the house. Solar panels and low-energy lighting could be ideal for homes like this.
It's possible to move properities like this to an EPC rating of between C to A.
How much energy could top improvements save?
- Solar panels: up to 43% per year.
- Low-energy lighting: up to 4% per year.
Suggestions based on data from Energy Performance of Buildings Register, September 2021.
Modern semi-detached
Typical EPC rating without improvements: C or D
As a newer building you don’t have to worry so much about insulation. For a bigger change to the house you could look to solar panels and solar heating. If you want to started quickly look to switch to low-energy lighting.
It's possible to move properties like this to an EPC rating of between C to A.
How much energy could top improvements save?
- Solar panels: up tp 43% per year.
- Solar heating: up to 22% per year.
- Low energy lighting: up to 4% per year.
Suggestions based on data from Energy Performance of Buildings Register, September 2021.
Converted flat (1920–1945)
Typical EPC rating without improvements: range of C - E
Make sure to keep the heat inside your flat with wall insulation. And swap to low-energy lighting for some extra savings that won't cost much up front.
It's possible to move properties like this to an EPC rating of C.
How much energy could top improvements save?
- Wall insulation: up to 24% per year.
- Low energy lighting: up to 4% per year.
Suggestions based on data from Energy Performance of Buildings Register, September 2021.
Mid-terrace (1945–1954)
Typical EPC rating without improvements: D or E
Investing in solar heating and solar panels could save you money in the long run. And for an extra energy savings boost you could switch to sustainable lightbulbs.
It's possible to move properties like this to an EPC rating of C or B.
How much energy could top improvements save?
- Solar panels: up to 43% per year.
- Solar heating: up to 22% per year.
- Low energy lighting: up to 4% per year.
Suggestions based on data from Energy Performance of Buildings Register, September 2021.
Top questions about home retrofits answered
The cost will be determined by the type of improvements you make. Preventing draughts can be fairly cheap, and perhaps something you could tackle yourself. Whereas a heat pump is a bigger investment and will need a professional installer.
The time really depends on the size of the job. Single items, like loft insulation, could be done in a day. When you start to add other measures, or more complex ones, it adds to the overall time. Professional fitters should be able to give you a clear answer based on what you want them to do.
Having an energy efficent home is certainly desirable, especially when energy bills are high. And potential buyers may be on the lookout for homes with a high Energy Performance Certificate rating.
Yes, although eligibility criteria may apply. UK Government and local authorities offer a range of support that's worth checking once you have a plan.
The Centre for Sustainable Energy (2022) recommends a three step process for a home retrofit: (1) Reduce the energy your home uses (2) Improve its energy efficiency and then (3) Look at renewable alternatives to heat and power your home.
A fabric first retrofit starts with looking at what improvements could be made to things like walls, lofts and floors first, before looking at more complex things such as heating and hot water systems.
Improving walls, lofts and floor insulation is a common first step to reduce heat loss and prepare your home for any future work you might want to do. It also tends to have a relatively lower cost, compared to replacing something like a home heating system.
You'll need to ensure you have the right amount of ventilation to allow moisture to dry out naturally and avoid causing any damp or mould issues. A survey of your home will highlight what you could do to improve the insulation and where you might need to improve ventilation too.
Source: homebuilding.co.uk, Oct 2022
A full retrofit is a comprehensive plan for home improvements with the aim of making significant improvements to your home's energy efficiency. It starts with an assessment of your home, by a qualified professional. If you don’t already know your home’s current Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating, it’s likely this will be confirmed with the survey. The survey may also tell you what your home’s EPC rating could be if you go ahead with the recommended actions.
The assessment will look at the fabric of your home (e.g. walls, lofts), the services and systems (heating, hot water and lighting) it uses including how much energy they currently use. It will also consider how you use your home and if there are any special circumstances too.
A plan will then be produced and usually split into different phases of work. Each phase will include an estimate of how much the work will cost, estimated energy savings and what the likely impact on your energy bills might be .
Source: Centre for Sustainably Energy, 2019
Watch customer retrofit videos
Greener Homes Retrofit Project
Follow a group of our customers who are taking part in our Greener Homes Retrofit Project. Hear how the changes could help to reduce their energy bills and make their homes more sustainable too.
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Get your free Home Energy Plan
Your plan for a more energy efficient and cosier home starts here.
- See how energy efficient your home is.
- Suggested home improvements to cut energy use.
- Estimated annual savings and typical costs.
Simply add your postcode to get started.