Home Retrofit

With time running out to keep global temperatures to 1.5 degrees, upgrading the nation’s homes is one of the biggest opportunities the UK has to reduce carbon emissions whilst tackling the cost-of-living crisis, energy security and levelling up.

The UK has one of the oldest and leakiest housing stocks in western Europe, possibly in the world. Yet 80% of homes that are lived in today will still be inhabited in 2050. Without urgent, nationwide action, our buildings will continue to waste precious, and increasingly expensive, heat as it leaks out of every uninsulated wall, roof and door.

What is retrofit?

Home retrofit is the upgrading of homes across the UK to increase their energy efficiency and reduce or remove their reliance on fossil fuels for heating.

In practice, this includes:

  • Insulating homes: which can include a range of technologies and techniques such as roof insulation, cavity wall insulation, floor insulation, external insulation and high performance glazing.

  • Replacing gas with electric: removing a traditional gas boiler and replacing it with in a heat pump to heat the home. In addition, solar panels and a battery can be added to a home so that it produces its own on-site renewable energy.

  • Reduction of energy use: through technology such as smart sockets and heat recovery systems to prevent wasted energy.

Retrofit can also include measures to improve the climate resilience of a home, such as the installation of external shutters and ventilation systems.

Why retrofit?

29 m

homes will need retrofitting before 2050.

50 %

of UK homes have uninsulated walls.

£56 bn

in potential health benefits if a national retrofit strategy is implemented.

20 %

decrease in gas demand for each home raised to an EPC ‘C’ energy efficiency rating.

Our homes and the need for retrofit in the UK

UKGBC’s  Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap shows that homes are responsible for the largest share of emissions from the built environment. Tackling these emissions is mission-critical to delivering on the UK’s net zero commitment.

The challenge is considerable. With just under two-thirds of the nation’s homes rated an EPC rating ‘D’ or below, we have a sizable housing stock that is wasting precious energy on a daily basis. Around 85% of the nation’s homes are heated by gas, and the price of which continues to rise as the energy and cost of living crises continue, making our inefficient homes an environmental, social and economic challenge. Additionally, common illnesses caused by cold homes in the winter currently costs the NHS about £1.4 billion every year.

Both issues can be tackled by an ambitious nationwide retrofit programme designed to improve insulation and energy efficiency. We want to see this starting with the 19 million homes rated EPC ‘D’ or below. Upgrading these homes to a grade ‘C’ would reduce gas demand by 20% alone.

When it comes to social benefits, recent reports show that a nationwide retrofit effort could deliver on average a £779 reduction in a household’s annual energy bill. UKGBC’s Roadmap indicates this programme would create at least 500,000 high skilled jobs across the country and prevent 6,000 avoidable deaths each year, due to increased thermal comfort.

But it’s not just the cold we need to protect our homes from. As we increasingly face the adverse impacts of climate change-influenced weather events, our homes must be retrofitted to adapt to heatwaves, flooding and water shortages. Retrofitting is essential for our buildings and communities to have a sustainable future.

Learn more about our Health, Wellbeing and Social Value work

What’s UKGBC’s approach and how do we look to accelerate home retrofit?

UKGBC is calling for a national government strategy to upgrade 19 million homes in a decade, and nearly all of the UK’s 29 million homes by 2050.

Since publishing our first retrofit resource in 2008, we have strongly championed domestic retrofit as a national priority through advocacy for national policy change, creating and publishing guidance for local authorities and industry, and convening local and combined authorities and industry to share best practice and expertise.

Learn about Domestic Retrofit Policy

We believe in accelerating home retrofit through three main avenues:

National Government

Lobbying national government for a national home upgrade programme.

Local Government

Working with local government to provide guidance and support for local retrofit programmes and incentive schemes.

Industry Collaboration

Working with industry to educate on the importance of home retrofit, and provide guidance on how they must skill up and facilitate this change.

Key areas of work

All Retrofit Resources

Upgrading Britain’s Homes

UKGBC has convened organisations from across the built environment, technology, academia, banking and energy sectors to champion scaled-up investment and game-changing national policies that will drive a once-in-a-generation upgrade of Britain’s homes.
Learn More

Local Authority Retrofit Forum

Designed for local government officers to connect and collaborate, share challenges and solutions, and hear from sector leaders.
Get Involved

Build Upon2 Framework

This Framework helps cities and local authorities measure the broad benefits of building renovation in a simple and consistent manner.
Read the Framework

The Retrofit Playbook

A guide where local authorities can ‘dip into’ sections that are relevant and useful to them. We are also seeking ongoing feedback.
Learn More

Blogs

Events & Learning Opportunities

Future event

Innovative Start-Up Forum

UKGBC is bringing together innovative start-ups to explore shared challenges and solutions, and to connect them with our wider membership.
1 May, 2024
Event
Online
Future event

Local Authority Retrofit Forum LIVE!

Join UKGBC and MCSF for our Local Authority Retrofit Forum (LARF) LIVE! Please note this event is for local government officers and civil servants only.
16 May, 2024
Event
In person

All Retrofit Resources

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Climate Change Mitigation

We are in a decisive decade for climate action and with a decreasing number of years left to achieve 2030 climate targets, radical and rapid transformation from businesses and the global economy is essential.
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