Retrofit Resources

Welcome to the

Building Retrofit Information Hub for homeowners

An initiative from HGN to bring together people, information and professional expertise to help with the challenge of making homes (and workplaces) comfortable year-round in the face of high heating bills and the need to cut carbon emissions.

We’re going to be expanding this section but are starting small, with links below to what we reckon are very good sources of information.

IMPORTANT If you are struggling to keep your home warm and deal with the costs, the advice team at Keep Herefordshire Warm can help – Get help here

Embarking on retrofit:

a whole house approach

Done right, this can make big improvements to comfort levels and can reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by 60-80%. It’s a large financial commitment and can be a disruptive process, but can be done successfully in stages. We strongly recommend that anyone planning a retrofit should start with a Whole House Plan.

Read more: https://cat.org.uk/info-resources/free-information-service/eco renovation/eco-retrofit/

Example of a whole house plan (from Carbon Co-op): https://cc-sitemedia.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/07/MyHomeEnergyPlanner_S mple_Report.pdf

Another useful explainer: https://retrobook.co.uk/what-does-whole-house-retrofit-mean-to-me/

Insulating walls (from Bristol but it applies here): https://sdfoundation.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2018/01/2015_bristolsolidwallinsulationguidance.pdf

More useful links

Websites with a broad range of information on Building Retrofit

https://www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/ The Simple Energy Advice website has information on easy energy saving, retrofit measures, and heating – plus a guide for people in rented accommodation. Includes information on funding

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/ The Energy Saving Trust has reliable, regularly updated information for householders and businesses. Includes information on funding.

https://carbon.coop/carbon-co-op-webinar-programme/ Carbon Co-op have a series of free webinars on all areas of their work – including retrofit, energy systems and much more.

https://www.cse.org.uk The Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE) are an independent national charity that shares their knowledge and experience to help people change the way they think and act on energy. Head to their resources section for lots of information on a range of topics and in various formats.

https://www.theheatinghub.co.uk The Heating Hub provide expert, impartial advice on heating systems to help you save money and carbon through your heating.

https://superhomes.org.uk Superhomes is a network for sharing best practice in domestic energy reduction and home comfort.

Intro to Retrofitting your home webinars at an introductory level:

A beginners guide to retrofit

How do we make our homes Zero Carbon Ready ?

Home Health Check (link to be updated)

An Introduction to Home Energy Systems

An introduction to Heat Pumps

Building Airtightness Webinar with Diane Hubbard

Check how your home/building performs in terms of energy and carbon emissions

Good calculator

Winterproofing - simple fixes

Keep warm for less this winter. See guides from:

Watch our winter ready – quick wins for a cosier home and lower energy bills webinar:

You can lose up to 20% of your heat just through draughts. See these guides from:

Magnetic-strip secondary glazing is a cost-effective and unobtrusive measure for reducing fuel costs and improving comfort and warmth. See video installation guide from:

Save money on your gas bills by lowering the flow on your boiler

Turn OFF the pre-heat on your Worcester combi boiler to save 5-10%

Explore a bit further:

Introductory Level of Information to Retrofit

Retrofit in a nutshell from the experts at the Centre for Alternative Technology https://cat.org.uk/ask-expert-eco-refurbishments/

Retrofit case-studies from Cosyhomes Oxfordshire https://cosyhomesoxfordshire.org/blog/case-studies/

Before and after – energy and carbon measurements from the Low Energy Buildings database https://www.lowenergybuildings.org.uk/projectbrowser.php

Medium / Implementation Level of Building Retrofit

Many of these links are to the website of Manchester’s Carbon Co-op. Follow the links we’ve identified or have a browse yourself.

Setting our Retrofit Standards with Mark Siddal (a good explanation of the benefits of systematic planning. The main talk starts nine minutes in)

The Fundamentals of Deep Retrofit with Nick Parsons

Retrofit: Replacement windows and doors with Diane Hubbard

Info Night: Construction Contracts – sign on the dotted line? with Sarah Fox

More Detailed level of information and case studies

See some retrofit schemes in other areas

Getting help

Click here to to get advice on funding and how to start your retrofit project.

find a professional:

Marches Energy Advice Installer Directory

The Marches Energy Advice Installer Directory has been compiled to answer one question: where do I find local trusted installers and professionals for my retrofit project?

Concerns about rising energy prices, climate change, and wanting a healthy comfortable home, are driving more and more people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, and decarbonise their heat and power.

In the directory you will find installers, tradespeople and professionals who can help you with this. All of the names listed have been recommended by people like you who have had works  done to their homes.

View the directory here: www.mea-directory.org.uk

If you are a householder who has been pleased with retrofit work carried out and would like to recommend a tradesperson or retrofit professional for the directory, please do so here.

topic based resources:

heating (and cooling!)

Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are one of the forms of low carbon heating that are critical to the UK’s transition to net zero. They use electricity – so can be powered by renewables – and are over three times more efficient than gas boilers.

Insulation

Coming soon! 

Airtightness and ventilation

Coming soon! 

Windows and doors

Coming soon! 

temporary/ low budget measures

Coming soon! 

minimising water use

Coming soon! 

topic based resources:

heating (and cooling!)

Insulation

Coming soon! 

Airtightness and ventilation

Coming soon! 

Windows and doors

Coming soon! 

temporary/ low budget measures

Coming soon! 

minimising water use

Coming soon!