Environmental Impact: How Home Retrofits are offsetting carbon emissions

Poor energy efficient homes is one of the UK’s biggest challenges it faces in the quest to reach Net Zero. In this blog, we explore how Retrofits could be the key to reduce Britain’s carbon footprint and provide homeowners with more comfortable and healthier homes with lower cost mortgages.

What is a home retrofit?

Retrofit refers to the process of making improvements in order to create a more energy efficient home with lower emissions. It is a comprehensive plan to make strategic upgrades to an existing home, helping them to be more sustainable and cost-effective over time. These improvements can range from small changes like sealing air leaks around doors and windows to more extensive renovations such as replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump.

Carbon reduction methods

Home retrofits can contribute to offsetting carbon emissions in several key ways:

1. Energy efficiency improvements 

By making improvements such as adding insulation, sealing air leaks or upgrading to energy efficient appliances, home retrofits reduce the amount of energy needed to heat, cool and power homes. This directly helps to lower energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions associated with your home.

2. Integration of renewable energy 

Many retrofits involve introducing renewable energy sources into homes, such as solar panels. By generating clean and renewable energy from these systems, homeowners can offset their dependence on fossil fuels and reduce their carbon footprint. Excess energy generated from these systems can also often be fed back into the grid, further contributing to carbon reduction efforts and reducing energy bills.

3. Sustainable practices

In addition to energy efficient upgrades in homes, retrofits can also incorporate sustainable practices and materials. This can include anything from water-saving efforts to implementing design strategies in homes to optimise natural light and ventilation. By reducing consumption and minimising waste, these practices help contribute to lowering carbon emissions.

What are the potential benefits of a home retrofit?

Whilst home retrofits are key to offsetting carbon emissions, let’s delve into the benefits homeowners can expect:

Lower energy consumption

Retrofit upgrades such as insulation, switching to energy-efficient appliances and renewable energy systems such as solar panels can significantly reduce energy consumption in your home.

Increased comfort

Sealing air gaps around windows and doors and improving insulation creates a more comfortable indoor environment. Homeowners can benefit from more consistent temperatures throughout the house and better control over humidity levels.

Healthier environment 

Retrofitting often involves improving older heating systems (switching to a heat pump for example) and/or improving ventilation in the home. These improvements can help to remove pollutants caused by burning fossil fuels and reduce the risk of damp and mould building up.

Increased property value 

Research suggests that home retrofits play a key factor in increasing property value. In Rightmove’s Greener Homes Report, it states that property’s moving from an F to a C EPC rating could increase their property’s value by an average of an additional 15%, or almost £56,000 (when looking at the average national asking price).

Lower mortgage interest rates

Green Mortgages, promoted by organisations such as the Green Finance Institute, offer financial incentives for homeowners to make energy efficient upgrades to their homes. Often, these mortgages come with lower interest rates or other favourable terms to assist with those undertaking a retrofit project.

Where to start

So, you’ve decided to carry out a Retrofit to improve the energy efficiency of your home.

But where do you start?

Don’t worry – you are not alone. In fact, around 28 million homeowners need help in making their homes fit for Net Zero. That’s where our Home Retrofit App comes in to provide you with a customised, mapped out plan for achieving greater energy efficiency in your home.

Our With You All The Way Retrofit service

Using our Retrofit App home owners are able to create a digital replica of their homes, compare and plan different retrofit options to help make their home more energy efficient. From the get-go, Digital Buildings is with the homeowner every step of the way. We provide TrustMark approved assessors and contractors to ensure quality at each stage of the retrofit process.

To get started on your Retrofit journey, click here: https://retrogreen.co.uk/