Of the 26 million or so homes that need to be retrofitted in the UK, 4.1 million of them are social homes and of those 1.6 million perform poorly at below an EPC C rating. This means cold, damp and expensive to run homes for many families who are already living on low incomes. It also means repeat repair visits and in some cases, disrepair claims that run into many thousands of pounds.
At the Retrofit Academy we understand the challenges that this brings for Social Landlords and also for Local Authorities who grapple with not only their strategic responsibilities but also those homes not under the governance of a good, registered provider.
The current Wave 1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is the latest opportunity in what is promised to be a 10 year and £3.8 billion programme of government support. We want to help registered providers and local authorities to be ready to benefit and maximise the opportunity to get retrofit at scale.
Our Fit for Retrofit Grid describes our services of training, support, services and resources.
Social landlords and local authorities have a major role to play in creating the warm, comfortable, and efficient homes we need to build a sustainable future. At The Retrofit Academy we support you deliver retrofit excellence that works for all stakeholders.
Social landlords
Meeting the retrofit needs of UK housing stock is a considerable challenge for social landlords who are responsible for delivering these measures and ensuring they comply with the industry standards outlined in the PAS 2035 specification.
Local authorities
Local authorities have the challenge of delivering on their strategic responsibilities whilst ensuring the homes under their jurisdiction are governed by responsible, registered providers.
The UK Government is committed to supporting domestic retrofit measures as part of their ten point plan for a green industrial revolution.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched the first wave of a new Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). This is the first tranche of a commitment to investing £3.8 billion over a 10-year period.
Wave 1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is worth £160 million and is open to registered social housing providers and local authorities. Access to this fund will help social housing providers deliver high quality, cost-effective retrofit at scale.
If you are a social landlord or local authority we want to work with you to help you access this vital funding source and take pride in making UK social housing a beacon of cost-effective, humane and sustainable living.
The Retrofit Academy has created a range of services to support social housing providers, including training, strategic support, and in-depth resources.
Implementing effective retrofit measures calls for joined-up thinking to make sure your team members get the information and resources they need, when they need them.
Our training programme ensures that the right people get the right support. For example, you may need to send your Asset Manager to a PAS 2035 compliance session, whilst your Housing Manager participates in a resident engagement session. All our sessions encourage the active participation of attendees and offer 121 coaching to fully empower your team.
Low-efficiency social housing means homes that are cold, damp, and expensive to run. This causes a range of physical health issues such as respiratory conditions and exacerbates mental health issues as millions of low-income families face the scourge of fuel poverty.
Inefficient homes are more prone to damage caused by factors like damp caused by poor ventilation. By not tackling these issues through a whole-house approach to retrofit, the ongoing costs of repair and maintenance works can run into thousands of pounds per property.
The Retrofit Academy offers a community of like-minded retrofit professionals, all committed to delivering retrofit excellence.
By becoming a member you are able to tap into the collective experience and know-how of industry peers who either know the solutions to your challenges or are able to work through them with you.
Other benefits:
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This award is looking for the best large projects demonstrating energy savings, increased comfort and health outcomes.
This award recognises and rewards retrofit professionals who excel in retrofit coordination.
This award is looking for the individual assessor or company that has done the most to engage customers and drive the retrofit agenda.
This award is looking for the individual installer or company that has done the most to engage customers effectively and drive the retrofit agenda.
This award is looking for the best small projects demonstrating energy savings, increased comfort and health outcomes.
This award is looking for the best social landlord (housing association, local authority or ALMO) retrofit client of the year. This will be an organisation who has demonstrated their commitment to decarbonising their housing stock, improving residents’ health and life chances.
This award is looking for the newest individual to the sector that has made the greatest contribution to low carbon retrofit in the last 12 months (up to and including December 2021).
This award is looking for the individual that has done the most to promote the retrofit agenda to customers.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
• Successful engagement with the general public leading to better-informed retrofit clients
• Successful marketing leading to increased uptake of retrofit
• Evidence of adopting PAS 2035 key principles and articulating these to potential customers
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To become a retrofit coordinator you need to have a qualification in a built environment subject that is at least Level 3 with a minimum of 12 credits (your credits should be detailed on your certificate). Level 3 qualifications are equivalent to an A Level certification. If you hold a university degree relevant to the built environment this would also meet the entry requirements for this course.
If you don’t hold a relevant Level 3 qualification or above you may be eligible to enroll in a pre-assessment with The Retrofit Academy to ensure you meet the academic standards required for the course. Failing this, you would need to attain the relevant qualifications.
Our fast-track learning option is ideal for quickly training your team, to get them ready to be able to work on retrofit projects within 4-6 months of accreditation. Using a bespoke mix of eLearning, bootcamps and seminars, this retrofit coordinator training can be designed to meet the needs of your business. As well as learning essential skills and knowledge, cohorts will benefit from networking with peers, and will gain a deeper understanding of energy efficiency and whole house retrofit.
This option is for self-organised learners but includes additional support from our expert tutors, and is backed up by an intensive two-day online bootcamp offering a comprehensive overview of the key learning objectives of the course.
Working in groups via Zoom, bootcamps are a great way for students to understand the fundamentals of Retrofit Coordination and Risk Management, and appreciate the importance of the coordinator role.
This option is designed for chartered professionals who are comfortable managing their own learning and wish to study at their own pace.
The course consists of 12 training modules assessed via a mix of multiple choice questions and written assignments; all accessed via our Online Learning Platform.
All teaching and assessment is completed online at the student’s convenience and you have 12 months in which to complete the course. Although no teacher-led lessons are involved, students will have support from an Online Mentor and Tech Support to ensure everything flows smoothly.
The new PAS 2035 standard works alongside the PAS 2030: 2019 standard, and introduces a set of criteria that must be met to ensure the consistent delivery of domestic retrofit in the UK.
It means that the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Local Authority Delivery Scheme (LADs), and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) sectors must fully comply with its specifications. Schemes such as the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) will also comply.
PAS 2035 represents a strong commitment to improving the energy efficiency of domestic buildings in the UK. It was designed in response to the UK government’s Each Home Counts Review, which was a comprehensive review of home energy efficiency. One major outcome of the review was the call for an industry-wide Code of Practice, which became PAS 2035.
The retrofit assessor’s role is to gather information about the building that is the subject of retrofit work. Domestic retrofit assessments are very wide-ranging and include factors such as the building’s construction, structure, and architectural features. The assessment will also consider the building’s current condition, including any structural defects, and issues such as leaks, condensation and mould buildup. Current installations such as heating and hot water, lighting, and ventilation will be documented. Any protected status, conservation restraints, or planning permission requirements will be investigated before work can begin.
The retrofit assessor must also take into account information regarding the number of building occupants and special considerations including the presence of vulnerable people, or people with disabilities.
One of the key roles emerging from PAS 2035 is the role of the retrofit coordinator. Retrofit coordinators ensure that all elements of domestic retrofit are properly managed and coordinated, and that a cohesive retrofit plan is designed and implemented. For more information on the role of the retrofit coordinator and how to gain the necessary training and certification, see our page on Retrofit Coordinator Training.
In order to become PAS 2030 certified your business will need to demonstrate that you use a PAS-compliant Quality Management System (QMS) to ensure you have the correct processes in place to deliver consistent customer satisfaction and retrofit implementation.
Your installers will need to have relevant qualifications and competencies; each team will require a qualified retrofit professional, and one member will need to hold an NVQ . PAS 2030 certification requires you have up-to-date health and safety certification, and you will also need to comply with PAS 2035 when assessing and designing retrofit plans.
A technical assessment of one of your energy efficiency installations will need to be carried out, and any compliance issues be addressed before you receive certification. An approved certification body like The Retrofit Academy will need to carry out the PAS 2030 assessment and certification.
PAS 2030: 2019 (which replaced PAS 2030: 2017) concerns the commissioning, installation, and handover of domestic retrofit projects.
PAS 2030: 2019 has been redeveloped to work alongside PAS 2035. Both documents should be seen as working together to create a single cohesive approach to domestic retrofit. Taken together, PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 lay down the steps all domestic retrofit projects should follow to gain compliance, and ensure consumer satisfaction in accordance with the recommendations of the Each Home Counts Review.
PAS 2035 is a specification for what is called ‘whole-house’ or ‘whole building’ retrofit; this is an approach to the installation of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) which takes into account the requirement of the entire building; both from a technical standpoint, and considering factors like occupancy comfort.
PAS 2035 is concerned with assessing domestic dwellings for energy retrofit. This involves identifying areas where improvements can be made and specifying and designing the relevant improvement measures. It is also concerned with the monitoring of domestic retrofit projects.
PAS 2035 is to be used in conjunction with PAS 2030: 2019, which sets out the standards required for installing EEMs.
PAS’ stands for ‘publicly available specification’, and the number ‘2035’ refers to the government’s target date to raise as many homes as possible to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C. The average EPC for housing in the UK is currently Band D.