When Simon Duffy gets another energy bill, his heart sinks. “It’s madly expensive,” he says.
Mr Duffy lives in a traditional stone-walled detached house in Sheffield. He estimates that he spends £3,100 every year on heating and electricity.
Despite being someone who cares about climate change, and keen to retrofit his property to make it more efficient, there’s a problem.
“Getting good advice on making your house more energy efficient is not easy,” he says.
Millions of homeowners across the country could be facing the same dilemma. Around 29 million British homes require retrofitting by 2050, according to the UK Green Building Council, an industry body.
Retrofitting might involve measures such as improving your home’s insulation, upgrading the heating system, or installing energy-generating devices such as solar panels, or even a private wind turbine. These adjustments can cost thousands of pounds up front, but, if properly executed, they could improve comfort and reduce people’s bills in the long-run.
Amy Peace and her husband live in the northwest of England, near Warrington. The pair both work in sustainability, advising businesses on their path to net zero.
They were keen to improve the quality of their home and apply the principles they promote at work to their own lives – but they too faced challenges when deciding on how to go about it.
Ecofurb is a service that offers to help homeowners plan a retrofit. There are many other organisations that offer to help homeowners plan a retrofit.
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