Beth McAllister

12 February 2019

We are really pleased to announce we have led a winning consortium bid with the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) to lay the foundations for developing a home retrofit scheme in Oxfordshire. 

Delivering the project will be the Low Carbon Hub, the National Energy Foundation which is already active in the county providing the council’s Affordable Warmth programme and RetrofitWorks, a cooperative based in London that is at the forefront of delivering cost effective retrofits.

We are working closely to together to develop a scheme that will match householders in Oxfordshire interested in improving the energy efficiency of their homes with trusted and skilled practitioners, backed up with rigorous quality assurance measures and whole job coordination.

Once established, the programme will make it easier for homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes which will reduce energy bills, cut carbon emissions, and improve comfort, quality and wellbeing.

Improving the energy efficiency of homes in Oxfordshire would have a significant impact on the county’s carbon emissions and go some way towards the county’s carbon target of 50% reduction of CO2, on 2008 levels by 2030. It is estimated that 4,000 homes per annum need to be improved to a higher efficiency standard by 2030 to meet these targets.

Communities across Oxfordshire, such as the Low Carbon Hub’s 29 community shareholders, have been active in reducing the energy demand of their neighbourhoods through thermal imaging projects and behavioural change programmes such as Low Carbon Living, amongst many other initiatives.

In the first phase until March 2019, we will work closely with these communities to develop the programme before it’s rolled out fully to homeowners. We look forward to launching the service later in 2019 and we will be in touch with more news as the project develops.

Reducing our energy demand and improving our homes is a crucial part of the picture in reducing our carbon emissions which we need to do urgently. We are delighted to have been awarded this funding to kickstart an Oxfordshire retrofit pilot project, where we have so many motivated communities keen to take part. We are also excited to be working with such excellent project partners who are expert in their fields.

Barbara Hammond

CEO, Low Carbon Hub

We are pleased to bring over 30 years of trusted and independent advice of how to improve the use of heat and power in the home through this pioneering project. I’m confident that our track record of providing support and encouragement to home owners will help many families in Oxfordshire benefit from a more comfortable, healthier and affordable way of living.

Paul Ciniglio

National Energy Foundation

We know that the RetrofitWorks cooperative is a robust way of building up the local capacity of expert advisers, designers and contractors and then a great way of helping them to work together. There are so many organisations across Oxfordshire that carry out great work, either in the Home Improvement space or as community-based organisations seeking to improve their area, it makes sense to bring them together to work toward common goals. We’re excited about the prospect of making interesting and attractive offers to the homeowners of Oxfordshire together with our partners.

Russell Smith

RetrofitWorks