Retrofit – improving the energy efficiency of buildings – is key to our mission of ending the suffering of cold homes and tackling climate change. That’s because retrofitting buildings reduces their carbon emissions and makes them cheaper to heat at the same time.

Our retrofit team at the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) work with individuals, communities, housing associations, local authorities, and commercial organisations to support a wide range of retrofit projects from start to finish. We’re thrilled that our work in this area and our highly skilled team are being recognised by the Retrofit Academy awards.

We’ve been shortlisted for three Retrofit Academy awards …

The Retrofit Academy Awards showcase exemplary work within retrofit, from retrofit coordinators to installers, social housing, and local authority delivery programmes to individual projects.

Here’s what we’ve been nominated for:

Best Local Authority-led Retrofit programme – Home Upgrade Grant Scheme (HUGS)

CSE has been working with Somerset council to deliver HUGS. The scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency of off-gas properties of households with low incomes by providing funding for home retrofit.

Low income and vulnerable households typically struggle to access support and schemes like this, but with our background in energy advice and casework, CSE is well placed to provide support in this area. Using our well-established process and systems, we’re supporting eligible applications whilst taking care to stop fraudulent claims to make sure the funding goes to those who most need it.

Retrofit assessor of the year – Jack Lloyd

Jack’s expertise and relationship with clients have earned him the nomination for retrofit assessor of the year.

Jack joined the CSE team as an energy advisor, working on fuel poverty projects which support people on low incomes living in cold homes. He then trained as a retrofit assessor. Jack’s background working with fuel poor clients means he can relate empathetically to people’s experiences of struggling to keep warm at home and he understands the issues that come from having a poorly insulated property, like damp and mould or high energy bills.

Our clients have fed back that he is open, honest, and sincere and gives them confidence in the retrofit process.

Congratulations Jack!

Retrofit coordinator of the year – Jenna Willcox

Jenna’s experience and understanding of working with vulnerable clients, combined with an in-depth knowledge of renewable energy and retrofit measures make her a stand-out coordinator.

Jenna has been part of the CSE team for more than eight years. She originally joined as a caseworker on the Warmer Homes, Advice and Money project, supporting people living in fuel poverty, so she has a great understanding of the needs and concerns of clients with vulnerabilities. Jenna then worked as an EPC assessor before moving on to coordination, so she brings a huge amount of experience and knowledge – she’s seen it all!

She works tirelessly to stay informed and engaged about retrofit standards to ensure she provides the best service. Jenna also mentors newer coordinators and runs Retrofit lunch clubs for CSE’s retrofit team. We’re lucky to have Jenna and thrilled for her hard work to be recognised by the Retrofit Academy awards.

On behalf of the whole retrofit team, I’m thrilled that CSE is being recognised in these three categories, which reflect our commitment to driving excellence across the entire retrofitting process. We take great pride in delivering high-quality retrofits that drastically improve home energy performance while reducing disruption. It’s so gratifying for the team’s fantastic work to be acknowledged.

Of course, the real winners are the families who live in warmer, more comfortable homes after a successful retrofit!

Gerald Charles, Head of Retrofit

Wish us luck!

The Retrofit Academy Awards take place on Tuesday 5 March, wish us luck!

In the meantime, take a look at some of our retrofit work…