How to Break the Retrofit Logjam

Social housing providers would like to get on with more energy efficiency upgrades. They don’t just have government targets to hit, they also want to help residents control soaring energy costs.

Yet upgrades to social housing are currently a long way off the trajectory needed to bring all stock up to at least EPC Band C by 2030.

What’s needed to break the logjam and deliver retrofit at a significantly greater pace?

Where are We Now?

Inside Housing surveyed 33 social housing providers who, between them, own or manage more than 960,000 homes. In 2021-22 they carried out 694 external wall insulation (EWI) jobs and insulated the cavity walls of 2,463 homes.

Over the next five years they expect to complete just over 16,000 EWI projects, and another 14,000 cavity walls. Assuming that a third of social homes don’t yet meet the 2030 target it’s clear that ways must be found to increase the rate of delivery.

Funding

Funding unlocks many doors. While most large providers anticipate committing large sums of their own money, government funding will help with pump priming and building capacity.

The second phase of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund has just been announced. Finding time to write compelling bids, backed by evidence, project plans and accurate costings isn’t easy when there’s so much else to do (including implementing new compliance and consumer standards regulations). Greater bid writing capacity and an efficient tendering process are essential.

Programming and Supply Chain Management

Delivery plans will be complex with many interconnected elements. These must be supported by streamlined supply chains that give priority to local businesses. Ideally this groundwork would be underway already to allow delivery to be ramped up and to minimise risks.

Digital and Automated

Retrofit at anything like the pace needed won’t be delivered by manual processes and control systems. Relatively complex operations such as external wall insulation will be performed much more efficiently with pre manufactured components that are simple to install.

Having digitised and automated many of our property services and construction processes in recent years we can confirm that these are often significant projects in their own right.

Skills

According to the New Economics Foundation the UK repair and maintenance workforce will have to treble in size over the next seven years – adding over 430,000 new people. Retrofit partners that have demonstrated a commitment to recruiting and training within the community offer a lower risk route to delivery alongside the capability to maximise social value.

Getting Residents On-Board

It’s likely that increased energy costs have changed the emphasis for resident engagement. From selling the benefits it may now be more a case of managing expectations and keeping people informed. Either way, the foundations of seamless resident engagement should be being laid now.

Experience

With so much to be done, any head start will come in handy. Partners with a track record of working with social housing providers to improve efficiency and accountability, as well as delivering large scale property services works, are well placed to move ahead at speed.

For ideas about how to approach zero carbon retrofit at scale visit our resource centre. Or contact Nick Davidge ([email protected]).