Homeowner Retrofit Page
Zero Carbon Harrogate’s Retrofit Programme is in the very early stages, and we are currently focussing our efforts on training the local building industry to be able to offer homeowners retrofit services. See our Retrofit Training page for more information. Our training programme demands that all retrofit qualifications are to national TrustMark and accredited to the specific trade body.
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Home Retrofit
The term retrofit is a broad and all-encompassing term which can include improving home insulation to fitting low carbon forms of heating and renewables. It is worth having a look at our Energy Saving Tips page which can give you an idea of what can be done before you start any building works on your home. Please see ‘A Guide to Retrofitting Your Home’ produced by TrustMark, a very helpful description of retrofitting and things to consider.
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To help you find a suitably qualified and, where possible, local retrofit professional, we have put together a list of resources, which can be accessed here.
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The Process
The process of retrofitting starts with having your home assessed by a qualified Pas2035 Retrofit Assessor.
To help you find a local assessor we have included a link/s to the accreditation awarding body who hold a database of all qualified and registered assessors. This database will allow you to search by your post code of all available in your area. As assessors who qualify through our funding become available, they will be added to our website also. The average cost of a retrofit assessment is around £190.00 for a 3 bedroom home, this will of course vary depending on the size and complexity of your home.
The Retrofit Assessor will be able to make an in-depth assessment of your home including the occupants heating requirements. This assessment will have some initial outcomes showing where easy alterations can be made to the home to make initial savings. Most importantly however, it will also give crucial information as to what can be done to make your home as energy efficient as possible. This part of the Retrofit process needs to be done by a Retrofit Coordinator, as incorrect specification and installation of any retrofit work can seriously damage your home, not to mention affect the health of those that live in it. A useful link to find a retrofit assessor can be found via the following link.
The Retrofit Coordinator takes the information provided by the Assessors report and looks to design the most appropriate schedule of work that can be done to your home, considering specific products and services and importantly your available budget. It may be at this point the homeowner chooses to proceed with retrofit works with no further help from a Coordinator. However, depending on the scale and complexity of the work it would be advised that the services of a Retrofit Coordinator are used. The coordinator produces a tailored schedule of works to be done taking in the specific requirements of your home, follows the work through engaging with your appointed builder/installer, carrying out quality checks and importantly signing off the work when complete. Retrofit Coordinators can also be found via this link. Please make sure you select coordinator.
It would be great to stay in touch, and if you choose to retrofit your home, any feedback, advice, and helpful tips that you can share would support others who are considering retrofit also.
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Financial Assistance
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Home Upgrade Grant (HUG)
Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) is offering grant funded insulation for low income households across the district through the HUG. HUG funding is available to you whether you own or privately rent* your home (subject to terms and conditions). You can use the HUG for loft insulation, draft proofing, or cavity wall insulation. If you own your home, the entire cost of the works will be covered by the grant and a maximum of £5,000 is available for improvements if you rent your home from a landlord.
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HBC is offering HUGs through the Better Homes Yorkshire initiative.
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*You will need your landlord’s permission to carry out any work if you are in private rented accommodation.
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The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
This scheme offers capital grants of £5-7.5K to property owners to install heat pumps and in some limited circumstances, biomass boilers, to replace fossil fuel (oil, LPG, natural gas, coal) heating systems.
The scheme opened in spring 2022. Further details are available on the OFGEM website.