What is retrofitting?

Have you ever lived in a draughty home that’s often cold? Or maybe you have a memory of your parents complaining about the electricity bill when you accidentally left a light on? If the answer is yes, you’ve probably lived in a house, at some time or another, that could have benefited from retrofitting.

In simple terms, retrofitting is finding ways to adapt an existing building in an effort to make it more energy efficient. This is typically done by improving its ability to retain heat and by updating to more efficient technology and using more renewable energy.

That sounds like something everyone should do, right? Of course it is, but it’s not as straightforward as you might think. There’s a challenge in helping people to understand the importance of improving their home’s energy efficiency. Plus, there are a few myths about the complexity and cost of retrofitting that often give people the wrong impression.

How does retrofitting work?

Your home’s energy efficiency depends on its construction quality, age, air permeability, thermal bridging, and heating system performance. If your home performs poorly in these areas, its heating system needs to work harder to heat your space, which requires more energy. On top of that, your bills will be much higher.

Retrofitting looks to address any inefficiencies found in your home by improving them. For example, if you have single, pane timber windows, you could update them to sealed double glazing, which loses a lot less heat. Or, if you’re still using older, halogen light bulbs, you can swap them out for efficient LED versions.

There are some retrofitting updates that you can identify and make yourself, but for many of the bigger upgrades, you’ll need expert advice (skip to the end of this guide to find out where to begin).

Why is retrofitting important in the UK?

Here in the UK, the vast majority of our houses are quite old. In fact, the UK has the oldest house stock in Europe (health.org.uk), with one in six homes in England and a fifth of homes in Wales being built before 1900 (Zoopla). While older houses come with a certain charm, the age of the houses in the UK poses a big problem when it comes to energy efficiency.

When a lot of our historic homes were built, we didn’t have access to the type of tech that makes newer homes much more efficient today. And, back then, thinking about the impact of our developments on the environment was not understood or considered in the same way it is today. To put it simply: we built a lot of lovely, but very inefficient houses.

To put a number on the impact of inefficient homes, there are 29 million homes in the UK that are responsible for 14% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions (theccc.org.uk). This represents a huge impact to the environment, just from housing. And for the majority of these homes, retrofitting could reduce this impact significantly.

Can retrofitting impact my home’s EPC rating?

In 2007, the UK Government introduced the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) programme, which requires all homes rented or sold in the UK to have their efficiency measured and given an EPC rating from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient). Currently, the median grade of UK homes is a D.

One of the best ways to improve your EPC rating is to look at ways to retrofit your home and put them into action. Even small changes, like upgrading your light bulbs or fitting a more efficient shower, can make a difference, but, obviously, bigger changes will really move the needle when it comes to your rating.

Still on the fence? Be sure to read our guide to the benefits of retrofitting to understand the big differences that improving your EPC rating can bring.

Ready to retrofit?

So, now that you understand what retrofitting is, why it’s important and what it can do, you’re ready to take the next step. To get started, we highly recommend using our Retrofit Explorer tool to get a better understanding of your home’s EPC rating and discover the tailored options available to make improvements.