Summary of the Challenge
Retrofitting the 26.4 million dwellings in the UK1 represents a huge challenge for central and local governments. Nearly all of the UK housing stock requires retrofit with only 42% of English and 37% of Welsh properties achieving an EPC rating of C or higher2. Homes built after 2012 are much more likely to be energy efficient, but they represent only 5% of properties in England and 7% in Wales.
South Yorkshire has a diverse range of buildings that make up its housing stock. According to ONS data, the Yorkshire and the Humber region has the lowest median energy efficiency score in the country. This means our housing consumes more energy and less efficiently when compared with other parts of the country.
There are wider implications to this challenge, beyond the carbon footprint associated with residential heating. Our housing stock is increasingly linked to poor health outcomes as a result of cold and damp living conditions3. Improving the thermal efficiency and ventilation of our housing stock would reduce the energy required to heat homes to a comfortable and safe temperature and reduce heating bills.
However, retrofitting our housing stock requires political will, significant investment, supply chain readiness, and a trained retrofit workforce. Moreover, we are running out of time to retrofit properties at a sufficiently fast rate to meet net-zero targets. The challenge is growing as is the need for coordinated action.
Our Response
SYSC's research responds to this challenge by considering how South Yorkshire could prioritise the delivery of regional retrofit programmes to tackle those property types that offer the best carbon savings.
We are developing a model which combines a range of building performance metrics to investigate combinations of energy efficiency retrofit and overheating mitigation. To do this, we are considering a 50-year lifespan for the performance of the materials and technology we are implementing and anticipating the adaptation required in response to climate change. Our model considers carbon savings, fuel poverty and the potential improvements in overall home living conditions, which have a strong link to the health and wellbeing of residents.
We will also consider strategies for meeting 2050 net-zero targets within housing. The research will explore scenarios in which demolition might be preferable to retrofit in order to meet net-zero and assess the carbon cost of alternative approaches. We will then consider what else would need to happen to implement strategies in terms of skills, labour, finance and governance.
Throughout this research project we will be working closely with our Local Authorities and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority as well as participating in regional and national retrofit networks. The challenge before us is great and can only be tackled through close collaboration between all stakeholders and the pooling of all of our collective knowledge and experience.
Footnote:
1 Housing in England and Wales: 2021 compared with 2011
2 Age of the property is the biggest single factor in energy efficiency of homes
3 Health inequalities: Cold or damp homes
