What is whole house retrofit, and how does it work?

You might have heard people talk about a whole house retrofit. But what does that mean? And is it right for you?

Retrofit is the word installers use for adding energy efficient improvements to an existing home. This could be anything from adding insulation, installing double glazing to putting in a better heating system or installing solar panels.

You could choose to install measures on at a time but some people choose to have a whole house retrofit. This is about treating your home as a complete system. It means planning improvements so that insulation, heating, ventilation and the fabric of your home all work together.

The idea is simple:

• Avoid quick fixes.
• Make a long-term plan that delivers comfort, lower bills and reduces carbon emissions.

Behind the scenes, though, the science is more complex. Heat, moisture and ventilation move through your home in ways that depend on:

• its construction.
• its age.
• how you live in it.

That’s why expert knowledge is so important. Working with our expert advisers, assessors and installers helps make sure the right improvements are chosen, designed and installed to work for your home.

Making upgrades, one by one, without thinking about the bigger picture can sometimes cause issues later. One thing can affect another, for example:

• Adding insulation without proper ventilation could lead to damp.
• Replacing windows without keeping fresh air flowing might make rooms feel stuffy.
• Upgrading heating without improving insulation could leave your bills higher than they need to be.

A whole house retrofit avoids these risks by making all improvements work together. It’s a joined-up plan that protects your home and makes it warmer and cheaper to heat.

Our advisors can offer free, impartial advise to help you understand which options are best for you and your home. You can choose to install measures in a way that suits your budget and our qualified assessors and advisors will help you reduce the chance of issues down the road.

A whole house retrofit could involve any number of the following improvements:

• Installing an air source heat pump.
• Fitting solar panels and a storage battery.
• Insulating your home from top to bottom.
• Installing double or triple glazed windows.
• Complete draught proofing throughout.
• Changing all lighting to LED.
• Upgrading ventilation.

All, or a combination, of these energy efficiency improvements can make your home more comfortable, reduce your bills and add value to your property.

Because each home is different, it isn’t possible to give an exact figure of the total energy savings you could make. Here are just a few examples of approximately how much you could save, per year, by upgrading certain things:

• £240 by installing cavity wall insulation
• £150 by fitting solar panels
• £140 by replacing doors and windows with energy efficient ones
• £85 by draught proofing windows, doors, floors and skirting boards
• £45 by switching to LED lighting