The Winter Solstice issue ❄

Welcome to the new issue

...on the shortest day of the year

Seasonal greetings and welcome to our final 2022 newsletter. Just because it's nearly the holidays doesn't mean there's no news! Oh no. As ever, we have plenty of the latest low carbon happenings to scroll through and delve into this issue.

Perhaps you've already started your break (lucky you!) - or maybe you're still working away to get all those loose ends tied up before you log off the laptop. Either way, we hope you enjoy perusing this issue (and smash your pre-Christmas workload!).

Read on, retrofitters...

📰 News & Opinion

The three top tips leading the government's new energy efficiency campaign

The Government has launched an £18 million public campaign to help consumers reduce energy waste and cut bills. Radio, TV and street advertising will all form a part of the marketing campaign, titled 'It All Adds Up'...

USD 560bn Investment in Energy Efficiency in 2022

Global investment in increasing energy efficiency could reach USD 560 billion in 2022, up 16% from the previous year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)...

The future of home heating

Heat pumps are currently the leading low-carbon heating option but there are plenty of other options for when heat pumps aren't suitable..

England's ageing housing stock poses 'massive health risk'

New data from the government and the social housing watchdog shows that conditions are already deteriorating for private and social tenants...

Over a million British homes signed up to scheme to cut winter power demand

Under the demand flexibility service (DFS), homes that have signed up with their suppliers would be paid, usually via money off their bills, for turning off appliances such as ovens and dishwashers during a specific period when electricity demand is high...

Ovo Energy customers could save up to £260 on energy bills with free home visit

The energy firm is launching a scheme called Ovo Energy Experts. People who sign up will get a free visit from an energy professional, who will give advice on how to slash energy bills...

This one issue is adding £350 to your energy bills

Leaky walls will add an extra £350 to energy bills between January and April, with four-in-10 homes in England ⁠— 9 million homes in total ⁠— suffering from the problem...

Energy saving tips: Five ways to cut costs this winter

Here are some ways to help keep costs down. While the actual savings differ for different people, at the end of each section we explain how the savings figure was worked out...

Retrofit and conserving our architectural heritage can go hand-in-hand

Efforts to retrofit older homes can run into conservation concerns...

Smart boiler maker Tepeo raises £10.5m

Wokingham-based startup Tepeo has scooped £10.5m in a Series A funding round led by BGF for its smart boiler. Founded in 2018, Tepeo’s “ZEB” boiler is designed to heat up its thermal core and store energy when it is cheapest and greenest, taking into account things such as electricity tariffs and the user’s preferences...

Re-HEAT project sees first heat pump and home heat battery storage system

The first combined heat pump and home heat battery storage system has been installed in a home in Inverness as part of the rollout of 150 zero carbon heating systems across Scotland...

📅 Events

Retrofit Summits coming up early 2023

Low Carbon Homes' Retrofit Summits have a well-earned reputation for galvanising local collaboration to meet the challenges faced by residents, local government and industry. Join us and help make retrofit happen for your region >>

Register (free) for our 2023 Summits to get programme updates and access all the expert presentations and discussion.

✍🏽 Government & Policy

UK Infrastructure Bank partners with BEIS to support growth of local low carbon heat networks

Successful projects will have access to the Bank’s local authority lending function which supports public bodies across the UK to access loans to finance critical green infrastructure and boost regional growth, the Bank’s two key objectives...

All the energy saving tips in government's new £18 million campaign

The £18 million 'It All Adds Up' campaign aims to raise awareness of the small and simple changes people can make to stay warmer for less money this winter...

👷🏽‍♀️👷🏽‍♂️ Skills and Training

The Retrofit Academy Awards 2023 open for entries

These awards recognise the hard work and dedication going into outstanding retrofitting projects across the UK, and to bring together organisations, stakeholders and individuals from across the sector...

🤩 Local/Regional Action

Bristol City Leap gets green light

Bristol City Council is entering into a world-first partnership, which will bring in over £1bn of investment to help make Bristol carbon neutral and climate-resilient by 2030...

Carbon Co-op looks for community retrofit champions in west Yorkshire town

The eight-month scheme will run in Todmorden with the goal of improving energy efficiency and addressing the skills gap in the construction industry...

South Gloucestershire Council explores former mines as a source of renewable heat

The old mines are filled with floodwater which is naturally heated by underground geological activity. Using heat pumps, the water temperature can be raised to the level required for space heating and domestic hot water...

💬 Reports, Research, Guides

Energy efficiency, insulation and double glazing key criteria for buyers

According to Leeds Building Society, which surveyed 2,454 people who are planning to buy in the next five years, around 31 per cent said good insulation was a key feature for them...

Government must incentivise private investment in retrofit, says banker group

New report urges stamp duty discounts and property-linked financing models. A group of bankers has called on the government to do more to support the financing of energy efficient retrofits for UK homes...

👩🏽‍💻👨🏽‍💻 Jobs

National Operations Manager - Retrofitworks

This is a leadership role and this position is expected to be fast-track to Managing Director role within the next 5 years. Do you want to make a practical difference to help tackle the climate and cost-of-living crisis, the energy crisis and drive change across the UK’s existing homes...?

Chief Executive - Heat Pump Association

To be responsible for the development and implementation of policy and technical issues maintaining a high-profile representative role for the industry and for the management and operation of the association...

Research Associate at University of Glasgow

Whilst the postholder will work across CaCHE projects, they will have a primary focus supporting the EPSRC project ‘Flexible Air Source Heat Pump for Domestic Heating Decarbonisation’ (Fashion), led by Prof. Zhibin Yu and line-managed by co-investigator Prof. Ken Gibb (who will also be the line manager for general CaCHE-related work)...

Next issue

That's it - our final issue for 2022!

Thanks for reading. It's been a busy and productive year for Low Carbon Homes, with many more retrofit and low carbon-focused peeps joining us via our events and online community - and we hope this newsletter helps keep you up-to-date with the latest low carbon housing developments.

We'll be back with our first 2023 issue on 18 January and there's still time to grab the first Guest Sponsor slot of the year! - plug, plug 😉

Hope you have some time off to relax over the holidays! See you next year.

Warmest low carbon wishes, From us, Low Carbon Homes 🌎

📢 Media Partner

Sign up for REI's newsletter

Renewable Energy Installer & Specifier (REI) is the leading information source for professional installers, technology suppliers and service providers in the renewable and microgeneration sector keeping the sector informed through regular, free to access, communications and strong web presence.