Hanna Tweg of the community energy group SELCE reports on a Society session exploring how retrofitting can provide warm homes, cut bills and boost comfort
You will remember May of last year: A lively panel at the Society’s AGM in April tackled the subject of retrofitting homes to reduce energy bills and improve comfort. The panel comprised representatives from the local energy cooperative South East London Community Energy (SELCE), residents with retrofit experience and a tenant looking to improve their rented flat, and was chaired by architect Tim Gayner, who is also chair of the Society’s Planning sub-committee.
Following an interactive mapping exercise, the chair opened the floor to questions. The conversation ranged across the practical, legislative and cultural challenges of retrofit.
Attendees raised issues specific to Camberwell, including how to navigate conservation area restrictions and listed buildings. They also scrutinised the role of legislation, debating whether new renters’ rights will cause a meaningful change in retrofit culture in the private rental sector and whether current Energy Performance Certificate targets reflect the reality of residents living in mixed-tenure areas.
Ray Wells, a member of the Society’s planning committee, gave the example of the Regency era terraced house that his wife, Jeananne, and he restored from an almost derelict condition just over a decade ago. When they bought the house, it had an official energy efficiency rating of G1, the lowest possible. Their initial works raised that to D64, which is about the UK average. The house is now more than adequately heated. However, there is always room for improvement.
The session closed with a reminder that small actions matter, with the panellists closing with their recommendations for their personal favourite significant first step: draught proof, insulate your roof and remember to seek impartial advice. Like most places in the country, Camberwell has thousands of homes in need of improvement and thousands of residents are unsure where to start. The new Warm Homes Plan, quietly published in January, sets out funding for home energy upgrades between now and 2030. If delivered, it could play a significant role in reducing fuel poverty and tackling the climate emergency by setting out £5 billion in grants and loans targeting households and social renters.
The final submission of the plan is yet to take form, but the general direction is moving away from the fabric of the building and instead placing the emphasis on clean technology: solar, batteries and heat pumps.
It has become clear through global politics that we need to move away from gas and oil, and the Warm Homes Plan will help us achieve this. However, many retrofitting specialists and energy groups issue gentle reminders that draughty homes will still demand energy rates far higher than airtight homes.
A heat pump fitted to a poorly insulated Victorian terrace is an expensive solution to a problem that physical measures – such as draught proofing, loft insulation and solid wall treatment – could go a long way to solving first. Fabric and clean technology are not in competition; they work best in sequence.
There are reasons for cautious optimism. The plan explicitly recognises that effective coordination between local authorities, housing providers and community organisations will be essential to reaching households
that need support the most.
