Retrofit on our TV screens.
This month Channel 4 brought retrofit to our screens with Guy Martin’s House Without Bills, in which one of our nation's favourite furry faced TV personalities and engineering enthusiast sought to discover if it is really possible to make our homes cheaper to heat and make energy bills a thing of the past. This hour-long programme focuses around the deep retrofit of a very standard UK 1930’s semi in Stretford, Manchester, as the incredibly capable contractor looks to implement the Passivhaus standard plans and introduces Guy to meticulous detail required for such a project.
Airtightness and Ventilation
Guy and his team introduced the concept of air tightness by exploring draughts in his leaky old farmhouse using a standard professional air tightness test with blower door fan to depressurise the building and measurement tools, including a smoke pen, to calculate and vividly reveal where leaks were causing heat to escape. There was no surprise that his home had some draughts and areas for improvement, and this contrasted vividly to highlight the effectiveness of the airtightness measures and detail involved in design and delivery being implemented in the Stretford retrofit. What could have been a surprise for many though is the stark reality of how retrofitting our homes can bring them up to significantly higher standards than current new builds in the UK, which are being built to worryingly low standards of airtightness. Of course not every home will need to achieve the Passivhaus standard, but surely it is just sensible and prudent for us all to build and ensure our homes are keeping as much of our paid for heat in as possible and not warming up the local landscape.
Of course, there has to be balance, and whilst we work to minimise or eradicate air leaks and draughts from our homes, it is important to ensure that we do continue to adequately ventilate our houses to get rid of moisture that can build up to cause damp and mold. The show demonstrated well how effective and essential installing Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery systems are for deep retrofit, and for me watching him help installing all the relevant piping reminded me of my own journey with this technology and the need to design it in from the start.
Heating and Insulation
Air Source Heat Pumps were the heating method of choice for this retrofit project, and it was great to see Guy’s enthusiasm for the technology as he visited a factory where they are made in the UK, demonstrated the science behind them, debunked some common myths around their noise, and showed us how implementing the holy trio…solar, battery storage and heat pump, can reduce running costs, make money and access new energy tariffs.
In addition to heating Stretford Retrofit and employing airtightness measures, it was also demonstrated how vital getting insulation right is in planning any retrofit. Choosing the right materials for the job, ensuring the installation is good and appropriate will ensure that our homes are as efficient and sustainable as possible. Good design and planning can ensure that areas which could cause problems, such as across thermal bridges, are managed and mitigated.
The Cost Benefits
With the costs of heating our homes having risen significantly in recent years many people are looking at ways to cut bills and make their homes more energy efficient. In this programme Guy visited some properties which could be considered to be energy bill free, and whilst the Stretford retrofit was not completely so, the professionals involved reckoned on it being 90% more energy efficient that before, which will have a significant impact on running costs. But, as this programme shows, and has been discussed by many people since, it can be an expensive undertaking, and is likely beyond the reach of most people.
However, not every home needs to be retrofitted to such standards of excellence as Passivhaus. Many homes and their residents can benefit now from even small and low cost changes, such as turning the flow temperature down on radiator heating, using a purge ventilation method and opening all windows once a day for 10 minutes and looking for and fixing draughts.
Will we see Retrofit on Eastenders?
In order to normalise the retrofitting of our homes to be more energy efficient we do need to see more of it on our TV screens and in popular culture; debunking myths, generating confidence and inspiring people to get on board. But, whilst Jack Branning, Eastender’s most conscientious landlord has been known to openly invest in property improvements, and the miserly entrepreneur Ian Beale is well known for pinching pennies we are yet to see heat pumps, solar panels or even extra insulation being rolled out to any home on ‘the square’. Surely they will be excited by the government's new Warm Homes Plan which aims to facilitate the uptake of heat pumps and solar panels through grants, loans and incentives which could help him save some precious pounds and create better homes for the residents of Walford.
Whilst Guy Martin’s Channel 4 show really was a whistle stop tour of deep retrofit I was very encouraged to see them once again bringing the subject of home energy efficiency to the fore, so come on the BBC, we challenge you to take up the mantle and make it yours too. The subject matter may not have been the most entertaining…certainly according to some armchair enthusiasts on Gogglebox… it was honest and informative, and we can only hope that ideas have been planted, conversations sparked, and inspiration ignited for many more people who watched with interest.
Find out more for yourself about Retrofit, Airtightness & Heat Loss by attending CRH talks and workshops. Book now at: Training and Events page or contact us here.
