By Rachael Owens and Sara Edmonds – National Retrofit Hub Co-Directors

Retrofit is often framed as a technical challenge: installing heat pumps, improving insulation, and hitting energy performance targets. While these are important, they only scratch the surface of what retrofit is truly about. At its core, retrofit is a social challenge—about creating homes that are not only energy-efficient but also healthier, more resilient, and affordable for the people who live in them.

A critical question has emerged during the National Retrofit Hub’s work: Are we measuring the right things? This question has shaped our approach, driving the development of practical tools designed to deliver better outcomes for residents and communities.

Reframing the conversation

Retrofit success has often been narrowly defined by metrics such as the number of heat pumps installed or homes achieving a particular EPC rating. While these measures are important, they overlook what truly matters to people:

• Does their home feel comfortable and healthy?
• Are they protected from rising energy costs?
• Will their homes be resilient to future challenges like extreme weather events?

To truly capture the impact of retrofit, we must focus on outcomes that improve lives:

• Comfort: Homes that are easier to heat and cool, providing stable, year-round comfort.
• Health: Improved indoor air quality that reduces illnesses and promotes well-being.
• Resilience: Housing that withstands extreme weather and other climate-linked challenges.
• Future security: Energy efficiency that reduces energy bills and supports long-term affordability.

Tools designed for impact

Addressing these broader outcomes requires tools that don’t just measure progress but help deliver it. At the National Retrofit Hub, we’ve worked collaboratively with stakeholders across the sector to co-create practical resources that respond to the challenges of retrofit, including:

• EPC Reform: Insights from over 300 industry professionals revealed the limitations of current EPCs, with 87% agreeing they should reflect health and well-being outcomes. The reform roadmap we developed introduces broader metrics like health, climate resilience and energy demand management, and suggests improvements to accuracy helping to make EPCs more useful and trusted.
• Archetypes Best Practice Guide: The UK’s diverse housing stock requires tailored approaches to retrofit. Through collaboration, we’ve created an Archetypes Guide and Library that provides structured approaches to the utilisation of archetype approaches, where buildings are grouped based on likely required packages of retrofit measures. These resources simplify complex processes, ensuring consistent and scalable delivery.
• Digital Building Logbooks: Better access to information on homes can make decision-making more transparent and accessible. By housing essential building information in one place, logbooks have the potential to empower residents, contractors, and policymakers to plan and track building performance upgrade progress effectively.

Broadening what we measure

By expanding how we define success, we can transform the narrative around retrofit. Stories of warmer, healthier, and more resilient homes resonate far more deeply than energy and carbon metrics alone.

Retrofit is not just about improving buildings—it’s about improving lives. By focusing on outcomes like comfort, health, and resilience, retrofit can tackle the challenges of fuel poverty, health inequalities, and climate resilience in a way that inspires broader engagement and investment.

Looking ahead

The retrofit challenge demands continued collaboration and shared commitment.  By building on the great work already happening in pockets of the retrofit sector   and continuing to gather consensus and co-create solutions, we can redefine retrofit as a driver of transformation—not just for homes and buildings, but for the people who live and work in them.