Retrofit Review

Welcome to the new issue

Hello everyone.

It's been rather a momentous 7 days.

Not only a new Prime Minister (who could be a force for positive change for our climate but appears reluctant on that front - more on this below), we also have a new King (who is a vehement supporter of climate and environmental action but can no longer openly support this). So it's down to the rest of us to keep pressing forward with action at-scale to reduce carbon emissions from our homes. And reduce our energy bills at the same time.

The climate crisis is no respecter of new ministers or monarchs. So let's press on with a determined spirit. This issue of Retrofit Review welcomes People Powered Retrofit as our Issue Sponsor this week with updates on retrofit training for construction professionals across the country.

Plus, a look at the new PM's initial responses to the energy and cost-of-living crises.

And, announcing our returning and NEW 🥁 low carbon partners for the upcoming South-East (18-20 Oct) and Birmingham (6-8 Dec) Retrofit Summits.

Read on, retrofitters...

Guest sponsor article

Retrofit training for construction professionals underway in Manchester and online

A growing and urgent need for retrofit is being held back by a lack of specialist skills across the construction industry. A Manchester-based social enterprise is tackling the challenge through a retrofit training programme held in an accessible local workshop and online for learners across the country...

Events

Get these dates in your diary! Register for an event - they're free to attend.

Get involved in your region's retrofit action plan.

Our series of free-to-attend regional retrofit summits and conferences follow a well-developed and popular format allowing you to select presentations to suit your diary, participate in private one-to-one meetings, network, and join informal virtual ‘table’ discussions - all online, so no travel, no cost and no carbon.

Plus, Partner News! We're delighted to welcome back Ambion Heating, Panasonic UK and Stelrad - AND welcome 🥁👋🏻🥁👋🏻🥁 Adaptavate, E.On and Mixergy as our Thought Leader Partners for our South East and Birmingham Summits.

Government & Policy

UKGBC responds to Liz Truss’ energy announcement

Subsidising gas is not sustainable long term when over a quarter of heat is wasted out of our badly-insulated housing and building stock. We’re left with a huge policy gap. If global prices are still high when the immediate support ends, we’ll still be in exactly the same place paying for gas heating that leaks out of every uninsulated roof and wall...

Liz Truss sets out plans for government to cover three-quarters of the rise in energy bills this winter, but ducks question of its £120 billion plus price tag

The universal approach to capping prices does a good job of targeting those with the biggest bills – such as large families and those living in poorly insulated homes – and ensures that fewer households fall through the cracks in support. But the inclusion of large support for high-income households also means the new PM is asking future taxpayers to accept a very large, and very uncertain bill to help today’s energy bill payers. The Foundation notes that the new PM’s announcement, which the government exceptionally chose not to provide any costings for, could eclipse the £137 billion bailouts for banks during the financial crisis...

Prime Minister's bills cap welcomed - but there's one 'critical omission'...

New measures were announced today by the Prime Minister to combat the ongoing energy crisis, including a £2,500 cap on energy bills and an equivalent guarantee for six months to businesses on their energy costs. Trade bodies across the energy sector have accepted this intervention with open arms, however, a clearer focus on restarting shale gas exploits than boosting energy efficiency and insulation has proved a worry...

$Factcheck: Why fracking is not the answer to the UK’s energy crisis$

Factcheck: Why fracking is not the answer to the UK’s energy crisis

The UK’s new prime minister Liz Truss has used her first major policy address to announce an end to the moratorium on fracking in England. Announcing the move – which breaks a promise made in the 2019 Conservative manifesto – Truss claimed it could “get gas flowing in as soon as six months” amid an energy crisis. But, as her own chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has acknowledged recently, it could take up to a decade for shale gas to make a sufficient contribution to domestic supply – and any amount of fracking is unlikely to stem energy price hikes, which are almost entirely driven by wholesale gas prices set internationally...

$Truss confirms 'extraordinary measures' to freeze bills, reform energy markets, and lift fracking ban$

Truss confirms 'extraordinary measures' to freeze bills, reform energy markets, and lift fracking ban

Liz Truss has unveiled her highly-anticipated plan to cushion homes and businesses against soaring energy costs this winter and beyond, with the new Prime Minister today announcing a freeze on bills from next month alongside moves to lift the ban on fracking, pay for green levies through taxation, and deliver a major revamp of clean power contracts...

Residents & Engagement

New drive to help households cut cooking costs in face of surge in energy prices

Deeside-based frozen foods retailer, Iceland, has joined with energy supplier, Utilita, to provide help for customers on reducing their cooking costs. They believe that households reliant on oven cooking could save up to £604 per year by switching to more energy-efficient cooking methods. As part of the joint campaign, both brands have committed to 11 pro-consumer, pro-planet pledges in total, which includes a massive overhaul of Iceland’s own-product packaging to reflect more energy-efficient cooking appliances and methods, and a national ‘Cooking High 5’ consumer awareness tour, facilitated by Utilita outside Iceland stores...

Local/Regional Action

Manchester to tackle low carbon housing retrofit challenge

A report to the Council’s Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee (Thurs 8 Sept) sets out the Council’s commitment to retrofitting the city’s housing to low carbon standard. The Council’s Retrofit Plan will outline the pathway to zero carbon housing, which will be key to realising the target to become a zero-carbon city by 2038...

£55m meant to improve energy efficiency of homes will be returned to government by Combined Authority

More than £55million will be returned by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to the government that was meant to be spent on improving the energy efficiency of homes across a broad area of the country. The authority’s board agreed to return £33.35m at its meeting last Wednesday, having already returned £22m...

Reports, Research, Guides

Energy inefficient homes set to cost households extra £748 in bills from October

A survey by the retailer (Kingfisher Group) of 2,000 UK adults who own or rent property found that 60% are more interested in energy efficiency than they had been previously due to recent rising bills. However, just 40% know their home’s EPC rating. Only 34% plan to make energy efficiency improvements in the coming year, with the most popular measures being double or triple glazing and wall insulation…

New research shows UK appetite for innovative financial products to enable energy-efficiency upgrades and reduce energy bills

New research shows UK's appetite for innovative financial products to enable energy-efficiency upgrades and reduce energy bills. The Green Finance Institute is developing a new financial product to meet this demand; it will allow homeowners to access private capital to finance the retrofit of their homes...

Local Climate Bonds: A proven and community-shaped solution

A year ago, the Green Finance Institute and Abundance Investment partnered to launch a national campaign to drive awareness and use of Local Climate Bonds (LCBs), a type of Community Municipal Investment (CMI) that uses a crowdfunding model to raise funding for place-based green projects...

Helpful Information and Tips for Manufacturers and Innovators on Gaining Access to Government Energy Efficiency Schemes

The Sustainable Energy Association (SEA), with support from TrustMark, BSI and the BRE, have written this helpful tips paper to support manufacturers and innovators of energy efficiency and low-carbon heating products. The purpose of this work is to highlight challenges in getting innovative products installed under government schemes, and to help provide options for engagement with the key stakeholders involved. There is a particular focus on providing helpful tips regarding engagement with the PAS 2035/2030 standard and the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), which are now fundamental requirements of entry into most government-funded schemes...

Jobs

Co-founder - Retrofitting Marketplace Startup

We are building a founding team for a new business codenamed Project Rita, a SaaS platform and managed marketplace that streamlines the retrofit journey for homeowners and landlords...

COO in Early-Stage Household Carbon Reduction StartUp - (Project RENEW)

RENEW’s mission is to create happy, healthy homes for people and the planet. RENEW will be buying leaky properties, then renovating and retrofitting the properties, installing smart energy tech and upgrading to have a sought-after modern feel, then letting the properties out to private tenants with bills included (and managing energy on their behalf). Certifying carbon saved as tradable carbon credits. Developing software to make the process easier, faster and more accurate.

Next issue

Coming up

In the next issue (28 Sept), expect to learn more about programme highlights for our next two events - Suffolk (13 Oct) then South-East (18-20 Oct) retrofit events.

And let's face it, after the last couple of weeks, who really knows what other news and information we will be sharing with you 🤷🏻‍♂️

Meanwhile, the high-profile sponsored slot in the next issue is up for grabs 🤝🏻 (always in the Top Three Most-Clicked Articles). So if you want to get your news in front of <15,000 engaged low carbon housing professionals, find out more here. Sponsoring an issue of Retrofit Review is an effective channel and is low-input for you (costing just £250/issue).

Thanks for reading. We'll be back in Inboxes in 2 weeks 👋🏻