In response to the climate emergency, the UK government signed up to the Paris Agreement in 2015 which committed them to pursuing efforts to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
To achieve this, the government has pledged that it will become net zero carbon by 2050. If met, this means the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the UK would be equal to or less than the emissions removed by the UK from the environment.
As households account for 40% of all CO2 emissions in the UK, improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock is crucial to achieving these targets.
At SDL Surveying, our nationwide team of accredited assessors can provide retrofit and energy reporting services to homeowners, lenders, and social housing landlords who are interested in knowing, or improving, the energy efficiency of their properties or portfolios.
If you’re selling or renting out a domestic property, it is a legal requirement for you to get an approved Domestic Energy Assessor to produce an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The EPC needs to be available to potential buyers as soon the property is marketed for sale or rent. Alternatively, if you already own a property, having a new EPC produced can help you to identify ways to improve its energy efficiency.
Retrofit refers to any improvement work that is carried out on an existing property to improve its energy efficiency. This includes making alterations to the building that improve its ability to be heated efficiently, retain heat for longer, and that replace existing energy sources with lower carbon options. The entire retrofit process should be conducted by a team of qualified experts who work together to implement changes and adopt a ‘whole house’ approach.
There are relatively small changes that you can make which can impact the cost and amount of energy being used in your home.
