Retrofit open resources list
[edit] Introduction
This article is just a list and not an exhaustive list at that, but it aims to bring together a wide range of resources in one place, with no particular agenda other than that. It began from a post by Will Arnold Head of Climate Action for the Institution of Structural Engineers, with additions from various people not listed and organisations (some included in the first section), brought into the wiki with various further additions from us. We hope it is useful, grows and remains focussed on sharing knowledge. We are a wiki site and so we welcome additions to this list, we just ask these to be relevant and coming from the perspective of shared knowledge first, with any marketing intentions as secondary.
For more descriptive articles please see types of work to existing buildings, retrofit projects and roles, renovation v refurbishment v retrofit and others at the base of this article.
[edit] UK Retrofit organisations
[edit] UK National Retrofit Hub
The National Retrofit Hub is a non-profit organisation that brings together those involved in the retrofit sector to share their expertise and work together to enable a National Retrofit Strategy to be delivered. Retrofitting homes is vital for the UK to achieve its energy, fuel poverty and climate change goals.
https://nationalretrofithub.org.uk/
[edit] RISE Retrofit Information, Support and Expertise
RISE is a free support service funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), which provides training, guidance and support to help social housing providers, local authorities and their supply chains across England plan and deliver successful domestic retrofit programmes.
[edit] The Retrofit Academy CIC
The Retrofit Academy Is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) focused on developing the skilled workforce needed for high-quality, large-scale domestic retrofit projects, aiming to make every home warm, healthy, and low-carbon.
[edit] BE-ST - The Scottish Built Environment Hub
BE-ST is Scotland's national innovation centre for construction and the built environment.
[edit] Optimised Retrofit Wales
Optimised Retrofit Wales is the collaboration of 68 partners, including 26 social housing providers, has been awarded more than £13m in funding by Welsh Government through the Optimised Retrofit Programme that was introduced this year as part of the Innovative Housing Programme. This link provide further details.
https://www.optimised-retrofit.wales/
[edit] Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Northern Ireland Housing Executive in its role as the Home Energy Conservation Authority (HECA) for Northern Ireland, the Housing Executive seeks to support improvements in home energy efficiency across the entire housing stock in the region.
https://www.nihe.gov.uk/working-with-us/research/energy-efficiency-and-sustainability
[edit] Supply Chain School
We are dedicated to advancing sustainability practices across the built environment industry.
https://www.supplychainschool.co.uk/topics/retrofit/
[edit] Centre for Sustainable Energy
We’re a charity supporting people and organisations across the UK to tackle the climate emergency and end the suffering caused by cold homes. We offer impartial retrofit advice that focusses equally on the needs of people and the requirements of their properties. Our approach ensures that energy efficiency measures are tailored to both the property and the lifestyle of the people that live there maximising comfort and savings. We believe that successful retrofit isn’t just about buildings – it’s about improving lives and creating sustainable communities.
[edit] European Retrofit organisations and projects
[edit] Retrofithub.eu
The aim of the project is to develop and deliver training for entities involved in residential property management on the competent implementation of renovation initiatives. The project also aims to develop a guidebook that provides a compendium of knowledge on effective implementation of retrofits for the benefit of the environment and society.
[edit] EUKI Retrofit HUB
Completed project advancing energy retrofit of buildings in Croatia, Poland and Hungary.
https://www.euki.de/en/euki-projects/retrofit-hub/
[edit] UK Local Authority or community guides and strategies
[edit] Local Partnerships/Local gov: local authority Domestic retrofit Handbook – 2023 edition
[edit] Bristol. Sustainable Development Foundation: A Bristolian's guide to Solid Wall Insulation
https://sdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2015_bristolsolidwallinsulationguidance.pdf
[edit] Etude: Cornwall Housing Decarbonisation Strategy
[edit] Green Meadows: Insulation Guide
https://insulation.greenmeadows.uk
[edit] Hertfordshire Climate Change & Sustainability Partnership: Retrofitting your house
https://www.hccsp.org.uk/media/documents/hccsp-retrofitting-your-house-guide.pdf
[edit] Carbon Trust: Decarbonising heat in Lambeth
[edit] Etude: City of London Corporation Housing NZ Action Plan
[edit] The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Sustainably retrofitting your home
[edit] Archio: Becontree Retrofit Guide: BeFirst
https://www.archio.co.uk/project/becontree-estate-retrofit/
[edit] Purcell: Heritage Building Retrofit Toolkit: City of London Corporation
[edit] Etude, Elementa, RAFT: Retrofit London Housing Action Plan
[edit] Bioregional, 3G Construction Consultants & Transition by Design: Retrofitting your home: Cambridge City Council
https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/media/11676/retrofitting-your-home-report.pdf
[edit] Karakusevic Carson Architects: Retrofit Social Housing: A Practical Guide for Local Authorities & Registered Providers of Social Housing
[edit] FCBStudio: Devon Retrofit Guide: Energy Saving Devon
https://www.energysavingdevon.org.uk/document/devon-retrofit-guide/
[edit] Levitt Bernstein, Etude and Prewett Bizley: ESSA Retrofit Guide
https://www.essaw8.com/resources
[edit] Above Ground, Street Space, People Powered Retrofit & Waxwing Energy: Saltaire Retrofit Reimagined
https://www.above-ground.co.uk/saltaire-retrofit-reimagined
[edit] Organisations and Institute resources
[edit] CIAT Beyond the Warm Homes Plan: A National Retrofit Programme for people and planet
This report sets out a plan to deliver holistic, design-led retrofits to ensure that homes are healthy, sustainable and resilient to a changing climate. Across 25 recommendations, the paper lays out a comprehensive, deliverable plan for Government, building on the Warm Homes Plan, utilising grants and low interest loans to expand access to retrofit measures. Recommendations from the Report include combining the numerous separate funding pots and support schemes for home energy efficiency improvements into a single, streamlined Programme, removing VAT on retrofit measures, providing “home instruction manuals” to support households to get the best performance from new, energy efficient systems, and implementing a lower rate of stamp duty for the most energy efficient homes.
https://architecturaltechnology.com/resource/ciat-beyond-the-warm-homes-plan-pdf.html
https://architecturaltechnology.com/resource/ciat-retrofit-beyond-the-warm-homes-plan-summary.html
[edit] RICS Retrofit tool aims to make historic buildings sustainable
[edit] NRH: Archetyping for retrofit: Best practice methodology
[edit] Barclays, 5th Studio, JG Consulting and Etude: Retrofit pattern book
https://nationalretrofithub.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NRH-Retrofit-Pattern-Book.pdf
[edit] CIBSE: Retrofit Revisit (free with registration)
https://www.cibse.org/knowledge-research/knowledge-portal/retrofit-revisit-2024
[edit] RICS: Residential retrofit standard, 1st edition, UK Basis for conclusions, March 2024
[edit] Delivering for tenants:What is needed from the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards to deliver the health, fuel poverty and comfort outcomes needed for renters?
[edit] Historic Environment Scotland: Guide to Energy Retrofit of Traditional Buildings
https://app-hes-pubs-prod-neu-01.azurewebsites.net/api/file/c419b9ac-b004-49dc-b9ea-b0bd011279df
[edit] Commercial Retrofit Innovation Map
Introducing the Commercial Retrofit Innovation Map, released as part of a collaboration between Bill Gates founded Breakthrough Energy, Fore Partnership and UKGBC.
https://ukgbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Commercial-Retrofit-Innovation-Map-2025.html
[edit] Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide
In October 2021, the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) published the Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide, developed with input from over 100 construction professionals, academics, and NGOs, to provide a blueprint for retrofitting UK homes in line with net zero targets. The guide outlines retrofit specifications for key housing types, aiming for a 60–80% reduction in energy consumption through efficiency measures and a shift from fossil fuels to electricity, particularly via heat pumps. It emphasizes the importance of whole-house approaches, highlights risks of poor retrofit, and stresses the wider social, economic, and health benefits of high-quality retrofits, from lowering bills and fuel poverty to creating jobs and easing pressure on national energy infrastructure. Backed by major professional bodies, the guide follows LETI’s 2020 Climate Emergency Design Guide for new buildings and is freely available online.
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/LETI_publishes_Climate_Emergency_Retrofit_Guide
[edit] Energy Technologies Institute: Stock archetypes in the UK. Tabulations for the specification of refurbishment solutions.
https://ukerc.rl.ac.uk/publications/technical_report/BLD_BU1001_53.pdf
[edit] Historic England, Cadw and Historic Environment Scotland: Course Handbook: Level 3 Award in Energy Efficiency Measures for Older and Traditional Buildings
[edit] Retrofit 2050: Critical Challenges for Urban Transitions
Scaling up retrofit presents a number of critical challenges for the transition to urban sustainability. Drawing together insights from the EPSRC Retrofit 2050 project this briefing sets out key success factors that need to be in place to deliver sustainable futures for UK cities.
https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/65743/1/critical_challenges_briefing-March%202014.pdf
[edit] SPoW Sustainability Checklist
This Checklist should be used to guide the structural engineering design process towards achieving sustainable outcomes, focusing on low carbon design over which the structural engineer holds significant influence.
The checklist may also aid in developing scope of works, budgeting and planning resources to undertake these tasks.
Topics and actions are grouped to approximately align with the numbering system of the SPoW Sustainability Report.
https://www.istructe.org/resources/climate-emergency/spow-sustainability-checklist/
[edit] Sustainable Renovation:Improving homes for energy, health and environment
This publication from The Pebble Trust (Highlands), The Scottish Ecological Design Association and John Gilbert Architects contains beautiful and instructive diagrams for best-practice retrofit details. Definitely worth looking at, regardless of which design discipline you identify as.
https://www.thepebbletrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/230814_SRG-ed2_Digital-V2_compressed.pdf
[edit] Technical Information Sheet: The Retrofit of Buildings
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) released a Technical Information Sheet on the Retrofit of Buildings, highlighting retrofit as one of the most significant future activities in the global construction industry to tackle climate change by cutting carbon emissions and improving building resilience. Designed for worldwide use, the guide avoids referencing specific laws or regulations and instead focuses on explaining what retrofit is, the approaches and processes involved, key technical issues, and measures such as fabric upgrades, renewable integration, building services, and ventilation. It also outlines the roles of professionals in the retrofit process and provides a comprehensive overview of available low-energy technologies. Published in English, Arabic, and Chinese, the sheet is accessible electronically, with CIOB members receiving free access and discounts on related resources. The author, John Edwards, Director of Edwards Hart Consultants and Professor of Practice at the University of Wales Trinity St David, brings expertise in building conservation and energy-efficient retrofitting of historic and modern buildings.
[edit] The Passivhaus residential development at Goldsmith Street
This lecture recording explores the structural engineering implications of Passivhaus design, using the award-winning Goldsmith Street development in Norwich as a case study. Passivhaus construction aims to reduce heating and cooling costs, helping address the growing issue of fuel poverty, and gained national attention when Goldsmith Street won the 2019 RIBA Stirling Prize. The session provides an overview of the Passivhaus standard, highlighting its history in the UK and globally, while discussing how it shapes sustainable construction practices. It also examines the structural engineer’s role, the technical challenges encountered during design, and how early concept decisions are crucial for meeting Passivhaus requirements. Delivered by Rob Scholes, Director and Environmental Manager at Rossi Long Consulting, the lecture offers practical insights into the engineering demands of sustainable residential development.
https://www.istructe.org/resources/training/the-passivhaus-residential-development-at-goldsmit/
[edit] Understanding existing buildings – five studies to complete before design work starts
Fiona Cobb presents a brief guide to the key desk research required to understand the types of construction, likely structural capacities and latent defects of an existing building.
[edit] Retrofitting and improving the energy efficiency of your home
https://www.rics.org/consumer-guides/retrofitting-improving-energy-efficiency-home.html
[edit] Individual articles
[edit] Hierarchy of Net Zero Design
This article by Will Arnold describes the Hierarchy of Net Zero Design. This means a primary mindset of 'Use Less Stuff' (reuse first, then efficient structural configurations, then efficient design calcs), only then followed by low-impact material specs.
Buildings provide people with warmth, shelter, and spaces to gather, yet their construction and operation have long exceeded environmental limits. While we cannot stop building entirely, since many regions still need more housing and infrastructure, we must shift toward construction that minimises environmental harm and eventually even benefits ecosystems. Historically, most emissions came from operating buildings, but advances in electrification, insulation, and renewable energy have shifted the focus toward embodied carbon—the emissions from producing materials like concrete and steel. Since these two industries alone account for over 15% of global emissions, addressing structural materials is one of the most urgent challenges in the sector.
Reducing structural emissions comes down to two strategies: using less material or lowering the carbon intensity of materials. Designers and engineers have the most influence over the first—optimising building layouts, reusing existing stock, and avoiding over design. Meanwhile, material producers and researchers must focus on decarbonising concrete, steel, and timber to achieve long-term climate goals. Halving structural emissions by 2030 is achievable through efficient design and collaboration, but reaching net zero by 2050 requires breakthroughs in low-carbon materials. Designers today hold a unique responsibility and opportunity to lead carbon reduction in construction—if they actively commit to using less, innovating more, and demanding change across the industry.
for full article visit https://www.istructe.org/resources/blog/the-hierarchy-of-net-zero-design/
[edit] Scaling low-carbon construction materials
Philip Isaac and Jonny Hawkshaw review the potential for materials with lower embodied carbon to be used more widely in both small-scale domestic projects and larger-scale residential and commercial projects published by IStructE.
[edit] Profile: Scott Boote
The main barriers to delivering low-carbon design on residential projects are not the ones you might expect, according to Scott Boote. He talks to Helena Russell about what needs to change – both in engineers' perceptions about materials and process, and in the wider sector.
https://www.istructe.org/journal/volumes/volume-102-(2024)/issue-8/profile-scott-boote/
[edit] CROSS Safety Report: Apparently simple home improvement work leads to dangerous situation
A report discussing how home improvement work, consisting of reroofing and a loft conversion, resulted in a 'near miss' with potentially dangerous conditions for neighbours.
[edit] IBO: Details for Passive Houses: Renovation
Ecological refurbishment requires know-how and experience. The IBO book is therefore designed as a planning tool that systematically reviews existing solutions.
[edit] ACAN Natural Materials Detail Library
The Natural Materials group seeks to educate and inform students, professionals and the general public on the multiple benefits of natural materials in construction. We believe natural materials should be the first choice for new construction and refurbishment. Natural materials provide healthy, low carbon, low impact, resilient, local and beautiful construction resources.
https://www.naturaldetailslibrary.org/
[edit] Others
[edit] Ecological Building Systems Blog
https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/blog
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Alterations to existing buildings.
- Do the building regulations apply to works to existing buildings?
- Demolition.
- Material amendment.
- Material change of use.
- Minor material amendment.
- Non material amendment.
- Change of use class.
- PAS 2038:2021 Retrofitting non-domestic buildings for improved energy efficiency.
- Planning permission.
- Permitted development.
- Principal designer.
- Renovation v refurbishment v retrofit.
- Retrofit.
- Retrofit projects and roles.
- Types of work to existing buildings.
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