Why is Retrofitting the poor relation?

A guest blog by Joyce Bullivent

Retrofitting i.e. making old buildings more energy efficient, seems to be the poor relation when it comes to talks about a greener environment or green jobs. Maybe it’s not so romantic laying down insulation and putting in triple glazing etc but it should be a priority. Cutting energy demand, and future-proofing buildings to be cool in high temperatures and warm in low temperatures is vital.

Few people have grasped that retrofitting has the potential to be a billion-pound industry supplying lifetime jobs in areas where well-paid permanent jobs are in short supply.  The other factor is the £billions we lose due to “leaky houses”, and the lack of control households have over their personal budgets due to continual rising energy prices. One in four Sheffielders are in fuel poverty ie, the cost of energy bills being higher than available income. In Sheffield Central alone that affects 9,745 households. Making cleaner energy doesn’t help those in fuel poverty as energy companies will still keep charging high prices, and without retrofitting a lot of the energy people are paying for will literally go straight out the window.  

There are approximately 26 million domestic properties that will have to have been retrofitted by 2050 to reach the target set for retrofitting domestic dwellings, and this is very much a moving target as older industrial and commercial properties are converted into dwellings not retrofitted at the same time and new builds which will need to be brought up to standard.

The previous Government’s green grants spectacularly failed due to a lack of strategic thinking, poor publicity, and underfunding, but also because of a lack of skills training both at the architect level and builder level.   For any project to be successful there needs to be a clear policy lead, a long-term strategy, and a variety of income streams, including charitable, commercial, green bonds and accessible low-cost loans.  

 A fifth of all residential stock in England was built before 1919. It is the least energy efficient but has the greatest potential for energy savings.  Converted historic properties (pre-1919) provided 51,110 new homes between 2012 and 2018, up from 5,053,970 to 5,105,080.  Changes in the High Street such as the closure of banks and pubs as well as old industrial buildings becoming vacant means a change of use to residential accommodation is likely to expand. Historic England estimates that 1 in 5 residential listed buildings are also used as a place of work   There are over 500 thousand listed buildings in England and Wales. Most are privately owned, with a high proportion used commercially. 

Retrofitting can be expensive. Research into cheaper methods is needed. Older housing stock in Conservation areas has the added problem that in the absence of any real guidance owners and planners do nothing, or pressure is applied to scrap Conservation area status and listed status and demolish and rebuild. This would not be a solution as the impact on the environment would only serve to worsen matters. It is reckoned that it could take 40 years to recap all the environmental impact caused by demolition and new build even if the new build is energy efficient.

 Retrofitting will cut costs for the residents, make buildings more resilient to extreme temperature changes, improve living conditions, reduce energy demand nationally, and supply thousands of local jobs, boosting the local economy and protecting small businesses.   

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