We’re excited to share that the Garfield Weston Foundation has made a generous £600,000 donation to Energy House Labs to help us lead the way in retrofitting the UK’s homes. This funding will support the construction of one of two traditional-style houses in our Energy House 2.0 facility, forming the foundation for our brand-new Centre for Retrofit at the University of Salford.
Our research to date at Energy House 2.0 has primarily focused on improving the efficiency of new-build homes, but with 65% of UK homes built before 1990, retrofitting older housing is key to tackling climate change and fuel poverty. By creating more traditional property types inside our climatic chambers at Energy House 2.0, to compliment the work undertaken at Energy House 1, we can further develop and test retrofit solutions that work for real households, from innovative technologies to low-cost, accessible upgrades.
Energy House 2.0, opened in 2023, can replicate 95% of the world’s weather conditions from -23°C to +51°C, along with wind, rain, snow, ice and solar gain. The addition of retrofit-focused houses in Chamber 2 will more than double the scope of our research, enabling us to test on housing types that represent nearly half of the UK’s housing stock.
Professor Will Swan, Director of Energy House Labs, said:
“The UK Government will be investing more than £13 billion in retrofit over the coming years. It is essential we get this right if we are to address issues such as net zero and fuel poverty. We feel the development of a Centre for Retrofit at Salford builds on our track record of giving real data to householders, industry, and policymakers as to what works.”
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“Greater Manchester is leading the way when it comes to tackling the climate crisis and we’re proud to have set one of the most ambitious Net Zero targets in the country, aiming for 2038. Energy House Labs has been a key partner in this work, and their commitment to research and innovation continues to support our wider goals. The new Centre for Retrofit strengthens Greater Manchester’s position at the forefront of the green economy, and it will support the kind of innovation and skills development we need across our city-region.”
We’re proud to welcome the Garfield Weston Foundation as a founding partner in this mission and look forward to sharing more on the Centre for Retrofit in the weeks ahead.