Retrofit Revealed: SE² helps shine a light on retrofit successes

At Ecobuild last week, the Technology Strategy Board launched Retrofit Revealed, its much-anticipated report into the outcomes of Retrofit for the Future.

Retrofit for the Future was a £15m competition which sought to catalyse the UK retrofit market by challenging industry to achieve 80% carbon emissions reductions in typical UK housing. SE² worked with Technology Strategy Board and data analysts Mastodon C to explore both the quantitative and qualitative findings of the competition.

What we found was both inspiring and practical: carbon emissions reductions of over 80% can be achieved through retrofit with existing technologies, supply chains and ways of working. Even the poorest performing property in the analysis saw a reduction in CO2 emissions of almost 40%, with the vast bulk of properties retrofitted during the competition achieving savings between 50% and 80%.

What's more, Retrofit for the Future catalysed innovation: in products, methods of delivery, ways of working on and off site and resident engagement. The creativity of the industry was unlocked and many of the features of Retrofit for the Future projects will become mainstays as we scale up retrofit in the UK in years to come.

Speaking of Scaling Up Retrofit, the next challenge posed by the Technology Strategy Board is exactly that: how do we deliver low carbon retrofit at a price that will satisfy customers and industry? You can find out more about Scaling Up Retrofit at www.innovateuk.org under the Competitions tab.

And if you want to find out more about the outcomes and lessons of Retrofit for the Future, download the report that we helped the TSB to produce. It's available - along with some great charts showing the performance of different retrofitted properties - at www.retrofitanalysis.org.