retrofit

News

Delivering Retrofit Skills in the South East of England

A new partnership between The Retrofit Academy and the Greater South East Net Zero Hub (GSENZH) will help train and develop the workforce required to retrofit an estimated 13.9 million households in the South East of England in line with the UK’s net zero commitments. The partnership comes as local authorities and social housing providers…

Contracts

Brent Council Awards Major Residential Works Contract

The Wates Group will deliver a Major Works programme across Brent Council’s social housing portfolio under a new £35 million contract. Wates’ Living Space business will carry out the works which include installing new windows, kitchens and bathrooms, and lift refurbishments from in July with completion scheduled within 80 weeks. The contractor will also undertake…

News

The Future of Home: Mira Showers, Bellway Collaborate with University of Salford

Residential housebuilder Bellway has created ‘The Future Home’ within Energy House 2.0 (EH 2.0), an unique £16 million research facility at The University of Salford in the United Kingdom. EH 2.0 has been partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund and is the largest test and research facility which focuses on fuel-efficient technologies. In…

Environment

Climate Change the ‘Defining Issue of Our Time’

Paul McLennan, Scottish Government’s Minister for Housing, has referred to climate change as the “defining issue of our time” at the second Green Home Festival which is part of the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) was the keynote speaker at the launch of the five-day renewables jamboree in central Edinburgh organised by the Construction Industry…

Environment

Scottish Housing Minister to Launch Green Home Festival

Scotland’s second Green Home Festival is set to be launched by Scottish Government Minister Paul McLennan, who has agreed to kick off the week-long series of shows delivering practical assistance and advice to help Scotland become a net zero nation. The Housing Minister will be the keynote speaker at the first session of the five-day renewables jamboree, whichis…

News

Setting the Standard for Residential Retrofit at Scale

A pioneering partnership between Essex County Council and workforce development specialist, The Retrofit Academy, is delivering improvements for the region’s retrofit workforce and winning industry awards. With over 422,000 of its homes deemed to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or below, and a distinct lack of qualified retrofit professionals across the…

Canada

Case Study: Strengthening Port de Quebec for the Future

The Port of Quebec (French: Port de Quebec) holds a significant place in the maritime history of Quebec City, Canada. As the oldest port in Quebec, after the Port of Montreal, it has played a pivotal role in the development of both the city and the nation since its establishment in the early 17th century.…

Environment

Addressing the United Kingdom’s Retrofit Skills Gap

With data suggesting retrofit recruitment must triple for the UK to reach net-zero by 2050, the Reed Group has launched ‘Reed Environment’ to support the ‘training at scale’ of a new green workforce. According to the group, the initiative will create one of the largest networks of green skills training providers in the country, creating…

News

Wates Joins Newly Formed National Homes Decarbonisation Group

Wates has become one of the first members of the newly formed National Homes Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) in a move that will help accelerate the social housing retrofit challenge. The Group will work together to drive social housing retrofit at scale, with a focus on growing a compliant supply chain, seeking innovation and advising on…

News

Stabilizing a Lighthouse Staircase

Cementitious grout anchors manufactured by Cintec North America have been used to stabilize the deteriorating staircase inside the Morris Island Lighthouse in South Carolina. The lighthouse which opened in 1876 stands at 49 metres (161 feet) and was decommissioned in 1962, before being placed on the national register of historic places in 1982. Following its decommissioning,…

News

Smart Power Socket Solution Reduces Energy Use in Commercial Buildings

MK Electric and Trend Controls have launched one of the first fully integrated commercial solutions for effective remote monitoring and control of plug-in sources of power consumption for the UK buildings market. Connected Power, the first collaboration between the two Honeywell brands, is designed to easily allow building and energy managers to monitor their site’s…

Best Practice

Protecting Restoration Projects from Fire

Cintec North America provides guidance on safeguarding against the risk of fire when buildings are being retrofitted, restored, or modernized following multiple emergencies in the United States and Europe in recent years. On June 14th, 2017, a fire broke out in the 24 storey Grenfell Tower, widely reported as the worst residential fire to take…

News

Why Specs are Key to Water System Retrofits

A manufacturer of polymer pipework is highlighting materials specification in the retrofit process as research indicates 20 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions come from the quarter of the country’s homes and third of its commercial properties built before 1919. Commissioned by the National Trust, Historic England and a number of other leading property…

News

UK Has Half the Workers Needed to Retrofit Historic Buildings

Improving the energy efficiency of historic properties could reduce carbon emissions from the UK’s buildings by an estimated five per cent annually and generate £35 billion of output in the economy whilst making homes warmer and cheaper to run, according to a new report commissioned by the National Trust, Peabody, Historic England, The Crown Estate…

News

Consortium to Support Hamburg’s Carbon Neutral Ambition

The City of Hamburg has selected a consortium led by smart building data company MeteoViva and automation solutions provider Sauter-Cumulus to retrofit its real estate portfolio with complementary solutions to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. A 98 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from publicly-owned properties is an essential requirement of Hamburg’s ambition to become…

Case Studies

Case study: 140-Year-Old Department Store Retrofitted with Rooflights

Established in 1882, the family-owned Barkers Department Store in the market town of Northallerton in Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England, offers a fascinating history having expanded by buying out neighbouring properties. In 2022, Barkers embarked on a project to replace the rooflights in all four atriums positioned in the centre of the store above the ladies’…

Letters to the Editor

Letters: Cheaper Bills, Warmer Homes

Tony Beer, managing director of community and supply change co-operative RetrofitWorks, comments on a recent proposal for ‘future-fitting’ homes to tackle climate change and the UK’s cost of living crisis by a cross-selection of industry experts. Dear Editor, RetrofitWorks is proud to have been contributors to the insightful Cheaper Bills, Warmer Homes Strategy which was…

Fire

Wireless Fire Protection Installed at Historic Country Home in Scotland

Wireless fire technology from Hyfire is protecting The House of the Binns, a historic house in West Lothian that is under care of the National Trust for Scotland.  The House of the Binns, or simply The Binns, has been the seat of the Dalyell family since it was first built. Despite being donated to the…

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