The UK faces a retrofit challenge of unprecedented scale. With half of all homes below EPC D and millions struggling with fuel poverty, we need to ramp up retrofit efforts 16-fold to meet net-zero targets.
But the current system isn’t fit for purpose. Fragmented supply chains, inefficient delivery models, and financing barriers are slowing progress – while the potential market for retrofit could reach £60bn per year according to project partner and Retrofit Rulebook author, the Manufacturing Technology Centre.
As part of our work on the Innovate UK funded Transform-ER project, our Define the need report explored why we need to transform the retrofit market – and how.
Key insights from Define the Need
Retrofitting rates sit at 6% of what is needed to achieve Government targets (according to ECO4 data).
Many households are trapped in fuel poverty, struggling with high energy bills and poor living conditions. Without urgent intervention, millions of people will continue living in cold, inefficient homes, and the UK will miss its net-zero commitments.
The retrofit market is currently valued at £1bn per year – but the opportunity is massive.
But with roughly 50% of homes still rated at Band D or lower, it has the potential to grow to £20-60bn annually estimates the Manufacturing Technology Centre. The demand – and need – is there, but the industry must scale to meet it.
The big barriers are systemic
Multiple, intertwined market challenges are crippling the sector, including high costs and funding gaps, an underdeveloped supply chain, workforce and skills shortages, lack of industry standardisation and absence of proven delivery models including financing. This means rethinking and disrupting the status quo.
Adopting a Manufacturing-Led approach can unlock scale
We identified a ‘Manufacturing-Led’ approach to industrialise the retrofit sector and facilitate large-scale implementation through increased productivity and efficiency. This includes aggregating demand and applying technology to develop standardised kits-of-parts to enable common solutions to be applied to different archetypes.
From current state to ideal future state
Throughout Section 3 of the rulebook, we will refer to both the current state of the retrofit market and the ‘ideal future state.’ This future state is what we have developed our new retrofit delivery model to achieve. Find out more about our approach.
Read the full Define the Need report
