House 1
A detached house, which had solar panels (12, equating to 4.5kW), 2 small domestic wind turbines (1.5kW each) in the back garden, 2 x 3.5kW batteries, and a 16kW Mitsubishi heat pump.
The homeowners undertook extensive retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of the house when they bought it.

The homeowners undertook extensive retrofitting to improve the energy efficiency of the house when they bought it.

‘throwing away’ (exporting) 70% of the power to the grid. However, he reflects that the ​​batteries are often full and they often export electricity. They recommend Octopus Energy as they give good deals on the export (PPA). Several of the group recommend NorCroft Energy (Phil Moseley) - for electrical work and solar installation (https://norcroftenergy.co.uk/)
The heat pump was installed in time to receive the RHI payments. The homeowner mentions AIRA - a Swedish company who complete the design
Other group members shared their experiences of looking into and buying heat pumps and one member said he has installed an oversized heat pump to compensate for the lack of insulation (and possibility to install insulation) in his old house
The homeowner did not need planning permission for the 2 wind turbines as they were below the height limit, however, states that he would have needed planning permission for them if they were connected to a heat pump (when they installed them). Some members query this rule and agree to check it.
Asked if they would do anything differently, the homeowner says they would get more solar panels. They were restricted due to lack of space on the roof; however, they are thinking of putting more solar panels on their flat roof, on a framework to position the panels.
The homeowners used Turbine Engineering from Doncaster to install their heat pump, which is on a single phase connection, placed on the garage roof.
One member of the group says they are increasing their solar by 45%, to 14 panels, and have been quoted £2,500 for 1.7kW including the inverter by All Seasons at Halfway, who have been bought out by AIRA.
The homeowner states that their electricity bills are £288/month.
 
House 2
 
Semi detached post war house on an estate in Penistone. The house has external wall insulation with red render and a new porch in yellow and a new blue front door.
 
The home owners explain that they moved into the house in 2014. They understood that the previous owners had lived there since the 1980s and had done little work on the house, so it was quite dated. However, there had been some previous remodelling of the down stairs.
The homeowners did some work before they moved in, including rewiring, replastering, new floor in the kitchen and hallway (tiled) with electric underfloor heating. They commented that they were lucky with the electrician they used as he managed the work, including the plastering, alongside his own.
After they moved in, the homeowners started to identify other big jobs that needed to be done, including the windows and doors as they were getting drafts, mould and damp, the outhouse roof (leaking), and repairs to the house roof. They also wanted to make the house more energy efficient and to align it with the way they wanted to live in it. They expressed a desire to be ‘more green’ but emphasised this was not as part of a vanity project, but to demonstrate how building could be done in accordance with environmental principles.
The homeowners had added solar panels to the roof in 2015 in time to receive FiT payments.
The homeowners used their experience of living in the house to inform the next phase of the work, e.g. the noise, temperature, air quality, light. They employed an architect in 2018 to design the ‘big’ retrofit work, which included drawing up and modelling a range of ideas. Ideas that didn’t make it included a double height greenhouse on the back of the house, which would draw air through the house and into which you could step onto a balcony from the bedroom windows.
 The homeowner commented that the architect is the one area of a retrofit project (of this scale) where he would not recommend people skimp on - the architect on this project cost ‘less than £10,000’.
The design work included having thermal imaging surveys of the house in all weathers to inform computer modelling of different scenarios of energy efficiency measures (e.g. glazing, insulation, porch) to identify the most cost-effective solution (considering the energy savings in each scenario).
The airflow and air quality were major concerns due to the damp and mould problems they experienced in the house and because they were making the house air tight. The greenhouse was dropped from the plans because, according to the models, it wouldn’t draw enough air from the house. 

The homeowners confirmed that they needed planning permission for the external work and that the biggest ​​obstacle in planning was the design of the porch, particularly the roof.
They moved out of the house to get the work done in 2020. This included: the porch, windows, doors, external wall insulation, replacement floors upstairs, installation of ecowool insulation between the floors, relocation of drainage pipes to run inside the external wall insulation, the MVHR unit and associated infrastructure (including the piping from the vents through the upstairs rooms), new outhouse roof, reconfiguration of two of the bedrooms, repairs to house roof, and loft insulation.
The house still has a gas combi boiler. 

​by their builder, which did cause some issues. The homeowners said they would have preferred that the windows opened outwards, but that the supplier advised them that inwards opening is better for insulation. ​The homeowners commented that the porch and new front door had significantly improved the light in the hallway and reduced drafts.

The homeowners said the MVHR unit has worked well and is like having a dehumidifier with fresh air, keeping the ​​rooms consistently warm but creating no condensation. They did have problems with the noise, but that was associated with the installation and this is sorted now. The MVHR was also supplied by the Green Building Store (https://www.weare21degrees.co.uk/), but was fitted by the builders - their list was too long.
The flat roof on the outhouse was completely replaced. The architect recommended bitumen, but they couldn't find anyone to fit this, however, they weren’t entirely sure why he had recommended it. 

​The loft was boarded out to give extra storage and the inside of ​the roof insulted with the wool fibre (50mm between the rafters and 2 x 120mm board over the rafters) ‘to bring the loft within the thermal envelope of the rest of the house’. However, the homeowners reported that there is still air flow around the eaves and that there is a noticeable difference in temperature in the loft (compared to the rest of the house.
The homeowners reflected that the builders they had chosen for the 2020 retrofit were not very good ‘for this type of build’, partly because they weren’t on board with the ethos of the build, and that there is a skills gap.

Upper Don Community Energy arrange one home visit per year where we try to visit at least 2 homes in the local area. If you would like to join us next time or have an idea for somewhere to visit, please let us know.

 I needed a clean space with better protection from the extremes of temperature.  Another factor was that I have asthma so take care to minimize hazards.  In practice this means minimizing exposure to small particles and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).  As polystyrene sheets would require cutting down to narrow lengths in order to fit through the hatch door, a dear, old friend suggested installing two layers of SuperQuilt  Home - YBS Insulation.  I used a company in Dronfield as my supplier  Multifoil Insulation UK • Ecohome Insulation
We studied various videos on YouTube and then led the way in applying the insulation. Once done, it was an immediate relief and, the space became functional.
Two years on, I am very pleased with the result. It’s clean and dust free.  I store lots of things there and am content to shuttle things up and down. That said, there is one issue that needs monitoring and ideally redressing. The attic can get slightly damp in the winter and a thin layer of pale green mould appeared in a couple of places.  I can wipe it off but I treat it as a warning sign of something I need to keep abreast of. 
Last September, while attending the Upper Don Community Energy public talk on Condensation, Damp and Mould, I learned that the moisture that wafts out of an open bathroom door after a shower quickly dissipates to the rest of the house.  As my loft hatch is just outside the bathroom door, I now wonder if this has been the primary source of the humidity.  From now on, I’ll keep the door closed and windows open until the humidity has gone.  I’ll also use the second layer of the hatch insulation that I had not been using on a regular basis. If I don’t manage to resolve this, I will consider a small dehumidifier.
Costs-wise, materials came to around £1,000.  I had no labour costs because my friend spearheaded the installation, and I helped.  

​Jonathon Hind from South Yorkshire Ecofit has asked us to let the community and any interested individuals know that they have been recently awarded a research project by DEZNA - 'Fabric vs Technology'.
 
As part of the project, SY Ecofit needs to carry out a survey for householders in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire that will help to identify house and householder archetypes suitable for "light retrofit" with a heat pump or "deep retrofit" with a heat pump.
By participating in this survey, householders will have a chance to win a free home energy assessment by a qualified, independent Retrofit Assessor. They’ll create a Whole House Retrofit Plan (WHP) for the participant`s home—worth £850 on the market—at no cost to them! The WHP includes a thorough assessment of their home’s energy and carbon efficiency, plus a step-by-step guide for improvements. Starting with “quick wins,” it details potential savings and estimated costs for each upgrade.
The link to the survey and more info about the project is here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexFv8du4HZ_BgSASabzOfPxBvlvfzNdxwC1ccXbbDNB-92g/viewform
Here is a poster with a QR code to the survey.

As the owner of an old, stone house I needed to know which materials are the best to use for retrofitting, so I attended this course on how to work on houses built with heritage materials.
Houses made out of traditional materials such as brick, wood and stone and then covered in render (on the outside) or plaster (on the inside) must be able to breathe to evaporate the moisture which we produce during normal occupation. When houses were built previously, they used natural materials. Often these have fallen out of fashion; and that’s a pity as they certainly may have a role in retrofitting buildings to improve insulation and reduce heating costs. A typical family produces a few pints of water (as moisture in air) a day just being in a house; and then there’s washing and drying clothes and baths and showers – all producing more moisture. Also, houses often have problems with water ingress due to leaking gutters and roofs or rising or penetrating damp. There’s no way that these can be sealed in and will disappear – the only solution if the fabric of the house is damp, is heating and ventilating it – and this might take years to dry the structure once the problem is fixed. So double glazed windows must have a trickle flow of fresh air and care must be taken not to block air bricks. Also, the outside surface should be at least 150 mm below the internal surface.
Building Surveyors have seen increasing problems due to trying to seal basements (tanking) and reconfiguring areas for multiple occupations (more people in smaller areas means more moisture). Often sealing a wall, say with some wonder plastic solution, just leads the moisture to move upwards maybe to wooden joists which may then rot, bringing structural problems. The more that a building becomes air-tight, the more that mechanical air extraction is required, otherwise moisture won’t be extracted.
Natural materials such as sheep’s wool or hessian are ideal for loft or underfloor insulation as they will naturally breathe. The sheep wool must be specially heat treated – this chemically changes each fibre making it unattractive to moths – a big problem with untreated fibre! Look for a company where the wool is heat treated eg  Ionic Protect | Benefits of Sheepwool Insulation Once in your house, moths are incredibly difficult to eradicate.
When it comes to pointing stonework or brickworks or sealing joints in old houses, then lime mortar is recommended, once set this enables moisture to evaporate out of the wall. However, cement won’t breathe like this and if the fabric is softer than the cement, it will be damaged when the mortar pulls/falls away with age.

This is a great time of year to book a Thermal Imaging Survey. This will identify:

• Heat loss from draughty doors and windows
• Poor or blown double glazing
• Poor wall, loft & floor insulation

And help to identify simple things which reduce the cost of your heating:

• Secondary glazing film. Window and door seals
• Draught excluding
• Radiator foil insulation
• Thick curtains
• Thermostatic values (properly heating one or two rooms)
• Loft insulation
• Underfloor insulation

A comment from a recent client:
“We both found the thermal imaging survey informative and easy to understand.
Tim and Andrew suggested ways in which we could insulate the parts of our house that need improving, some of which are easy and affordable. Tim sent us information regarding under floor insulation which we are looking into, but there is no pressure put on you to buy particular products.  We would definitely recommend having thermal imaging undertaken.”
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​Contact us on the information below:
Email: [email protected]                  Tel: 07707 762995