Why retrofit?

• Carbon emissions of home energy - 20% + of all UK emissions
• Electricity grid due to be 95% low carbon by 2030
• Benefits of reducing energy use
• Lower carbon emissions
• Lower energy costs
• More comfort
• Better health

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How heat escapes from a building

• Convection - heat moves via air
• Conduction - heat moves through objects
• Radiation - heat moves as energy waves

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• Draughts - uncontrolled ventilation - replace with controlled ventilation
• How to retrofit
• Reduce heat loss
• Generate renewable energy
• Low carbon heating system

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REDUCE HEAT LOSS

HEAT PUMPS

PANELS

SOLAR

REDUCE YOUR HOME’S ENERGY USE AND

CARBON FOOTPRINT

Easy Wins

• Turn thermostat down to appropriate levels
• Reflector Foil behind radiators on external walls
• Lower boiler flow temp to 60C
• only condensing combi boilers
• not if very poorly insulated house
• reduces energy use by around 8% - increases efficiency of boiler by making sure it runs in condensing mode to recover waste heat
• moneysavingboilerchallenge.com
• Draughtproofing – windows, doors, letterbox, service entry points, floorboards, skirting boards
• Insulate hot water cylinder and at least first metre of pipework

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Insulation

• Reduce the thermal conductivity of the building fabric
• Increase the thermal resistance
• Warmer in winter, cooler in summer
• Traditionally constructed buildings – maintain vapour permeability
• Walls - cavity wall or solid wall
• Loft - mineral wool roll
• Roof - room-in-roof
• Floor - solid or suspended floor

Airtightness

• Warm air escapes, cold air gets in
• Chimney - chimney balloon/sheep
• Doors & windows - draughtproof
• Loft hatch
• Service entry points

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Ventilation

• Draughts - uncontrolled ventilation
• Humidity controlled extraction
• Target wet rooms - bathroom and kitchen
• Trickle vents in windows
• Don’t try to diagnose severe damp or mould

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Heat Pumps

• Extract heat from air or ground
• Use electricity (reverse refrigeration) to increase heat
• Air source heat pump - 270% efficient (gas boiler 90%)
• Nearly three times more heat produced than

electric energy used

• Water heated to about 50^oC (boiler 85^oC)
• May need bigger radiators or underfloor heating
• Sensible to insulate first
• Ground source - more efficient (400%) but double cost
• Air-to-air - cheap, but can be noisy and needs internal ducting to be effective

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Solar Panels - Photovoltaic (PV)

• Produce electricity in daylight hours
• Standard system - 3.6kW, about 10 panels
• Suitable roof:
• Shading
• Pitch
• Orientation
• Roof strength
• Panels - 25 years, inverter & battery - 10 years
• Permitted development - conditions in conservation areas
• Storage & usage:
• Battery
• EV charger
• Solar diverter

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Installers

• MCS accreditation - Microgeneration Certification Scheme
• Trustmark accreditation - all trades
• Find an accredited contractor:
• MCS
• Trustmark
• Consumer review sites:
• Checkatrade
• Trustpilot

Planning rules

• Conservation Areas
• Permitted development - solar and heat pumps at rear
• Listed Buildings – listed building consent
• WCC Historic Buildings & Energy Efficiency Guide - here

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Useful Information

• Centre for Sustainable Energy - downloadable fact sheets
• Energy Saving Trust - home energy info
• Energy Alton - Clean Heat Guide

Grants

• Smart Export Guarantee - export solar electricity to the grid
• Boiler Upgrade Scheme - £7,500k for heat pumps
• Great British Insulation Scheme:
• Council tax bands A – D
• EPC of D or below

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• Low income:
• Warmer Homes – LAD & HUG grants
• ECO4 – Energy Company Obligation (and flex)

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New Retrofit Advice Project

• My Home Made Better
• Launching March/April
• Partnership - county-wide
• Free, independent retrofit advice
• Dedicated website
• Community volunteers - training provided

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homes@winacc.org.uk

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07804 281564

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