Retrofit refers to any improvement work on an existing building to improve its energy efficiency, making it easier to heat, able to retain that heat for longer, and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.

Key Facts:

The UK Government committed to meeting the Paris Climate Accord – to achieve netzero by 2050. This is the only current law concerning Netzero in the UK.

Our homes use 35% of all the energy in the UK and emit 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions.

80% of all buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built, this means circa. 29 million homes need to be retrofitted by 2050

To achieve the retrofit target, between 1st June 2022 and 31st December 2050, we need to retrofit 4650 homes a day

After watching the video, take your pupils through the slides to explain the three core components of the process. Discuss the retrofitting process with the pupils and ask them where they feel the biggest opportunities for change are.

Organise the learners into small groups of 3-4 and ask them to participate as a team in the NetZero in Numbers.
Note: if devices are not available to teams then they can capture answers on paper and review afterwards

In this section, the tasks develop pupils’ understanding on ‘how we lose heat from our homes’. Ask the group to discuss the ways we can improve our homes to stop heat escaping.

Now lead into a discussion about the five types of insulation as part of a fabric first approach. The teacher slide pack highlights the 5 insulation types that make up Fabric First.

Fabric (of the house) – insulating the property to retain heat effectively but also ventilation is critical so that the property does not become damp and rot as a consequence as more insulation results in trapping heat & moisture

Ask learners to identify the benefits/advantages of each type of insulation. This can be used to help reinforce learning of the previous section. 

Removing the fossil fuel heating system and replacing with electrical low energy source of heat.  Air source heat pumps are seen by the Governments as a way of reducing our dependence on gas (a fossil fuel). 

Using the slides in the teacher slide deck, explain how a heat pump works and ask your pupils to capture this on their activity sheet in their workbook. Pupils should discuss the key considerations when using a heat pump instead of a gas boiler.

When we explore power in terms of retrofitting we identify that as the national grid and power generation moves to renewable energy (Wind, Solar, Tidal & Nuclear) the energy that is used in properties will become ‘Net Zero’.

Task: Design your Retrofitted House. Sketch a simple outline of a house (with a roof) on the board. In groups, ask pupils to discuss and list the changes they would make to the house in order to complete the retrofitting process. This includes asking each group to identify the order in which they would complete them.