Next steps

Retrofitting homes makes them energy smart, more comfortable, cleaner for the environment and cheaper to heat.

We encourage people to visit homes similar to theirs and then identify the opportunities to improve energy efficiency when they upgrade their own home. Learning off others is important as we are facing challenging times due to rising energy costs, reduced energy security and national targets to reduce C02 emissions from our existing housing by 80%.

The key to achieving a successful retrofit is to take a whole house approach and do the maximum possible at each opportunity. This means taking into consideration the type of house, then looking at all appropriate energy efficiency measures, thinking how to reduce water and waste and examining renewable energy options.

These Next Steps pages offer chances to understand a little more about many of the different measures available and featured in our homes and will soon link with our 2012 case studies. They also point towards useful advice bodies and specialist trade organisations.