Are you looking to improve the energy efficiency of your home?, you will want to start by hiring a Retrofit Assessor to carry out an assessment of your home. We are professional Energy Assessors, accredited by Stroma / Elmhurst Energy and Licenced with TrustMark to conduct Domestic Home Surveys.
Our surveys will take approx. 8 hours and include: An EPC, A Retrofit Condition Assessment Report, an Occupancy Report and a Energy and Water Usage Report. Once the report is complete we will explain our findings in full and give recommendations on how to improve your Home’s Energy Efficiency
Retrofitting a home often involves improving the insulation of walls, floors and lofts and upgrading windows and doors. It may also mean renewing services such as heating, hot water and lighting.
The recent dramatic increase in energy bills and the ongoing need to improve the efficiency of how we use energy in our homes means there is a significant demand for tradespeople who can carry out energy efficiency (also known as Retrofit) works to homes.
Our homes use 35% of all the energy in the UK and emit 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions. Approximately 24 million homes across the UK need retrofitting, made low carbon and will help fight climate change.
The Government has set a target for the UK to reach net zero in carbon emissions by 2050 and reduce emissions by 78% by 2035
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Before we look at Retrofit and what that can mean for our homes and energy consumption, it’s important to consider how we can use energy more efficiently in our everyday lives. Great things can often be achieved by making the smallest changes.
Our daily use of energy has become, for many, an automatic process without consciously thinking about what we’re using and how we’re using it. Consider a ‘normal’ day. Most people get up in a warm, centrally heated house in winter and perhaps put the lights on. There’s hot water for a shower; the razor and toothbrush are charged ready for use and the kettle’s boiling ready for that morning tea or coffee. Clothes may be pulled from the tumble dryer and the TV’s showing the morning news. With an average daily energy use of 8-10 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and 33-38kWh of gas3 per household, it’s likely that a third has already been used. That’s before we consider use later in the day for cooking, washing, drying, bathing or watching television.
While the bulk of domestic energy is used to provide heating and hot water, our lighting systems and all the appliances we use add up too. The table below shows the typical amount of energy that some of the appliances we have at home use per hour or, where applicable, for 10 minutes.
By understanding the amount and how we use energy, we can all make simple and often low or no-cost changes to reduce our energy consumption before we consider investing in other measures.
Here’s a few things we can do to save energy and reduce our bills and our carbon footprint:
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An Energy Performance Certificate, generally referred to as an EPC, tells you how energy efficient your property is and gives it a rating from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient). It provides an estimate of the energy costs to heat and light your home, and what its carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be.
An EPC also includes information on what the energy efficiency rating could be if you made the improvements that are recommended. It also shows what these are typically likely to cost and what the savings are likely to be.
A physical survey of the property needs to be carried out by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor in order to obtain the information.
A new format EPC was introduced in September, 2020 by the Government, along with a new register – the ‘Energy Performance of Buildings Central Register’ - where all EPCs are kept and which is operated by The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). This has consolidated all EPC information for England, Wales and Northern Ireland onto one register and includes domestic and non-domestic properties. Scotland has a separate system and register. EPCs are valid for 10 years from the date of issue, so if your property has an existing EPC which was assessed before September 2020, it may look a little different to the latest version. The new format has seven sections which clearly lay out the information.
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They are:
1. Energy Performance Rating for the property
This area shows a coloured graph with the property’s current and potential energy efficiency rating (A -G). Properties are also given a score. The higher this number, the more energy efficient your property is and the cheaper your fuel bills are likely to be.
The average energy rating and score for a property in England and Wales is D (60).
2. Breakdown of property’s energy performance
This breakdown provides a description of different components of the property and shows its energy performance as Very Poor, Poor, Average, Good or Very Good.
The following are typically included:
Other features may be included if they exist in the particular property.
3. Environmental impact for this property
This section provides the estimated carbon dioxide production for the property. It shows the UK average household production – 6 tonnes C02 annually – so there is a comparison for you to see how well or not your property measures up against the average. It also shows how much you could reduce the C02 production by if you applied the recommendations.
4. How to improve this property’s energy performance
This section gives the energy saving recommendations for the property, typical installation costs of the measures and typical yearly cost-saving against each one.
It also indicates the potential rating change, for each individual measure and if all measures are carried out. This enables you to consider which measures may be more cost-effective for you and in which order to implement them.
5. Estimated energy use and potential savings
The estimated cost and savings show how much the average household would spend in this property for heating, lighting and hot water over a year. It is not based on how energy is used by the people living at the property. The estimated saving is based on making all of the recommendations on how to improve this property’s energy performance.
It also provides a breakdown of the energy used for heating and hot water in the property.
6. Contacting the assessor and accreditation scheme
Contact details for both the qualified energy assessor who carried out the assessment for the EPC and the accreditation scheme they belong to are given here. If you have any queries or complaints, you can contact the assessor directly to resolve any issues and if you need to escalate an issue, you can contact the accreditation scheme.
7. Other certificates for this property
If any other certificates have been previously issued for the property, the details should be provided here.
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There are three main reasons why retrofitting our homes is so important.
Firstly, Climate Change and the UK Government’s target of the UK reaching net zero by 2050. We are all aware of the need to reduce our energy consumption and the emissions we produce. Our homes use 35% of all the energy used in the UK and emit 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions, so reducing these wherever possible is paramount.
Secondly, energy costs are rising and are likely to continue to do so. Measures that help to reduce the amount of energy used not only help to reduce emissions but also lower household energy bills.
One example is installing 270mm insulation in an uninsulated loft will save on average each year*:
*All figures from Energy Saving Trust using October 2022 energy prices.
Thirdly, introducing these measures can help make our homes warmer, more comfortable and healthier to live in. Studies and reports from numerous organisations including the World Health Organisation, the NHS, Universities and All Party Parliamentary Groups all highlight the impact of cold, damp and mould and poor indoor air quality on health.
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It’s always advisable to appoint people who are qualified, skilled and competent to carry out any assessments and work in and around your home. All trades should work to high standards of quality and many are members of professional trade associations or accreditation bodies. Businesses registered with TrustMark are not only validated by their Scheme Provider(s) but also commit to adhering to high standards of technical competence, customer service and trading practices, set out in our Customer Charter, Code of Conduct and the Framework Operating Requirements. hey are also required to have financial protection mechanisms in place for their customers’ protection. This applies to any works a TrustMark Registered Business carries out, whether that’s energy efficiency improvements, electrical works, landscaping or cleaning carpets.
A new, overarching British Standard for energy efficiency retrofit - PAS 2035 – was introduced in 2019, which provides a framework for delivering domestic retrofit projects in the UK. It is designed to overcome the previous issues of poor design and quality and energy efficiency measures being introduced in isolation, often causing more problems than they solved.
New roles have also been created to work within and apply this framework, they include: Retrofit Assessor, Retrofit Coordinator, Retrofit Designer and Retrofit Evaluator. People working in these roles have to be trained and are qualified to required standards to ensure a quality outcome.
If you are funding your own works with no public funding then whilst it is recommended, it is not mandatory for you to use these individuals. It is strongly recommended however, that you appoint trained, professional people who are experienced and competent in the appropriate areas. This will help to ensure that works are carried out to high quality standards and you achieve your desired outcome.
If energy efficiency improvements on your home are being funded by any government, local authority or energy supplier schemes, then mandatory requirements are in place as to who should be involved with and carrying out the works.
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You can use TrustMark’s ‘find a trader’ search facility to find Retrofit Professionals and contractors. These are all competent professionals who commit to adhering to the required high levels of technical competence, customer service and trading practices.
How can I be sure about the quality?
Getting the right installation is vital to achieving the right outcomes and you want to be sure that any work carried out is of high quality, well-thought through and properly planned. Quality Assurance throughout the project is fundamental and is where TrustMark can help. By using a TrustMark registered Retrofit Professional, you have the reassurance that they are skilled, competent and work to the high standards required. What guarantees and insurance do I have?
Using a TrustMark Registered Business gives you the most comprehensive level of protection available when getting work done in and around your home. Not only do you have the built-in assurance that the tradesperson you engage will work to the standards and requirements of the TrustMark Code of Conduct and Customer Charter, you also have the added security from the financial protections which are required to be in place. These include:
TrustMark Financial Protection Panel
The Financial Protection Panel (FPP) was formed to make sure there were no gaps in the provision of consumer protection when using a TrustMark Registered Business. You can use TrustMark’s ‘find a trader’ search facility to find Retrofit Professionals and contractors.
Using a TrustMark Registered Business gives you the most comprehensive level of protection available when getting work done in and around your home.
Insurance against the tradesperson going out of business This can vary between businesses but as a minimum must cover:
Minimum 2-year product warranties and workmanship
Works not funded by any government programme must still include a minimum of a two-year finance protection mechanism for workmanship and product which meets the TrustMark financial protection requirements. Energy Company Obligation and other Government programmes
For installations carried out under Energy Company Obligation (ECO) or other Government programmes, it is a mandatory requirement for the business to provide an ‘approved’ finance protection mechanism.
Minimum 25-year guarantees are mandatory for certain Energy Efficiency Measures under ECO or funded through certain government programmes
These include:
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Abacus Valuations Ltd is a registered company at Orchard House, East Lound, Haxey, Doncaster. South Yorkshire DN9 2LR. Registered company Number is 13387578.
