At this social we heard from three very different households who have recently completed (or almost completed!) their retrofits.
Introductions and Julian’s prentation are not on the audio file.
Recording
[00:00:00] John Grayson speaks about personal, social, political and economic desicion making factors considered in the planning their retrofit of a 1930s semi to EnerPHit standards.
[00:15:25] Alan Mould speaks about decision making, choice of contractors, issues along the way and top tips.
Find Alan Mould’s presentation here. The unalloyed joy that is a retrofit
[00:34:58] Discussion on:
- advice to the younger generation of first time house buyers,
- ethics of large homes for couples,
- importance of retrofit due to climate change,
- the issue of landlords and rental properties,
- the choice of MVHR (mechanical ventilation and heat recovery),
- local situational factors (aspect, shelter, weather) relevant to choosing a home,
- different experiences with contractors.
Speaker info
Julian is towards the end of a retrofit of a Victorian semi tackling internal wall insulation, room in the roof and underfloor insulation, new triple glazed windows, and new heating and ventilation. See more here: http://www.juliantomlin.com/victorian-semi.html
John and Pauline have retrofitted their 1930’s semi to EnerPHit standards, with very high levels of airtightness, EWI, triple glazing and MVHR. A driving concern has been the creation of a demonstration project to tackle climate change in old houses, and to convert the house to make it suitable for their retirement. They will continue to record energy usages, temperature and humidity and will make the data available to interested parties.
Alan and Monica have just completed a full refurbishment of their house which has included a number of measures to reduce energy consumption, make the house more thermally efficient and reduce their carbon footprint. They have employed experienced contractors, but not ones that are specialists in those particular areas. After a lot of consideration Alan and Monica decided not to go for EWI or MVHR and this was based on positive decisions around their home use patterns and desires, rather than due to finance.