Retrofitting buildings for climate change?

It's a lost cause - because you don't care. Do you?

You do care, that's why you're reading this article. But are you aware of a problem that is holding the UK back, that we could fix quickly?

The retrofit, refurbishment and renovation sector can face this challenge. It's the biggest threat to engaging customers.

People are confused

The subject of climate change is huge, overwhelming. To make sense of what can be done to fix it. People want to hear about solutions.

But this is where we hit a problem. Understanding the retrofit industry, how it can change your house or your commercial building hits a friction point immediately.

And it is incredibly difficult to get excited about solving climate change. A huge, intangible threat. When you get handed a word soup, a 'definition disco' by a consultant or contractor.

Here's an example of just some of the terms you'd discover as you search the web for solutions to say a retrofit requirement;

Pretty easy to understand I reckon. Improving an existing building, usually to improve energy efficiency.

You'll already be getting into a listicle of definitions. A Deep Energy Retrofit is defined in different ways but people talk about a 50% decrease in energy consumption on a site.

Look at this video example where a homeowner completed a retrofit. The video is found on a Youtube search for "Deep Energy Retrofit".

In the transcript there are the various ways the build is described;

1. DIY Passive House retrofit
2. deep energy retrofit
3. DIY retrofit
4. EnerPHit retrofit
5. retrofit
6. Passive House retrofits
7. deep energy retrofits

Now the video is great. I love the honesty. But I had to go search out the various ways the build is described, in case there was something I was missing.

There's a good definition of this at the UK Green Building Council website and a superb framework for how commercial companies can work towards improving their buildings.

Mostly this definition is used to refer to non residential buildings.

However, on that very same, informative website they have another term;

Which I kinda like, because it's relatable and sounds like something I'd want. My home. Being fixed. Making a home climate friendly is something we can all buy into.

The point is.

If we can't describe what we want, how do we get it?

That’s where Refurb&Refit is on a mission to create a hub. A simple to navigate resource for a complex problem.

Come join us and find out more.