Broadly speaking, retrofit is any work or improvements which are done to a home after it has been built, specifically to improve the energy efficiency of the home. You can find out more about home retrofit by watching our beginners’ guide to retrofit webinar.

Take a look at our blog on what to expect from a Cosy Homes Oxfordshire home energy assessment.

Funding is available for homeowners who are vulnerable to the cold or living in fuel poverty. If you think you may be susceptible, refer yourself to the Better Housing Better Health (BHBH) team – they can provide vulnerable residents in Oxfordshire with advice and grants to improve energy efficiency in the home and lower bills.

We will update our website with any available funding as it arises. The Low Carbon Hub has put together advice on energy and funding for residents in Oxfordshire.

In England and Wales, homeowners may be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

More funding options and advice is also available on Oxfordshire County Council’s Retrofitting your home page.

When taking up the Cosy Homes Oxfordshire service, you gain access to our pool of vetted installers and certified contractors who are members of the RetrofitWorks cooperative (our delivery partner).

If you are looking for contractors we can recommend TrustMark, where you can search for local tradespeople in your area.

As of April 2022, VAT is not charged on the installation of energy efficiency measures in Great Britain, and this relief is set to last until 31 March 2027.

Thermal imaging is a non-contact method for detecting surface temperature and moisture, often used to identify areas of heat loss in a home. While useful, its effectiveness depends on specific environmental conditions and doesn’t provide quantitative comparisons between houses. Therefore, it is not a standard part of the Cosy Homes Oxfordshire service.

Your Retrofit Coordinator will advise if thermal imaging could be beneficial for your Whole House Plan. If you’re interested in this service, we can arrange it at an extra cost. Simply inform your Retrofit Coordinator when booking your home assessment.

Please note: Thermal imaging is typically offered from October to March, as colder months reveal heat loss more effectively.

At Cosy Homes Oxfordshire, we focus on whole house retrofits to create a comprehensive plan for home improvements. Homes often have a mix of features from different owners over the years, which rarely work together efficiently.

By assessing the entire property, we ensure all improvements work harmoniously for maximum energy efficiency. This approach also ensures upgrades are done in the correct order to prevent future issues, like blocking a chimney to reduce heat loss but causing dampness due to lost ventilation.

Our primary service is the Whole House Plan, giving you a complete picture of possible retrofit improvements. Homeowners decide which measures to implement, and we can help plan phases to reduce upfront costs and disruption.

We do not offer services for individual measures, like boiler replacements, outside of this whole house approach. For such needs, we recommend contacting a local, trusted contractor. We also do not consult on existing projects but aim to include these services in the future.

Our focus is on a whole house retrofit approach, assessing the entire house to produce bespoke, comprehensive recommendations for maximum energy efficiency. This includes multiple measures, ensuring all aspects of the building work together and preventing future issues.

Often, homes have piecemeal improvements from various owners, causing inefficiencies. Our approach minimizes carbon emissions and maximizes energy savings.

If you want to make a significant investment in retrofitting your property, Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is the right choice. If you prefer a different approach but still want to improve energy efficiency, we can suggest alternative routes.

• Warmer Sussex (Sussex) or EcoFurb (London): If you’re based in Sussex or London, we recommend Warmer Sussex or EcoFurb. These retrofit services, run by RetrofitWorks who also manage our delivery process, offer the same level of care and expertise.
• TrustMark and Buy With Confidence: For simpler or standalone retrofit improvements, like upgrading your boiler or switching to LED lighting, it might be more cost-effective to source quotes and manage the project yourself. Start with TrustMark and Buy With Confidence to find trustworthy local contractors. This is also a great option if you live outside Oxfordshire.
• Better Housing Better Health (BHBH): If you or someone you know is vulnerable to cold or damp, refer to the BHBH team for advice, support, and potential funding. BHBH, run by the National Energy Foundation, is one of our project partners, so we’ll also check for funding opportunities if you register with us.

As it stands our supply chain is set up to service homeowners in Oxfordshire.

If you live outside of Oxfordshire, these are our recommendations:

• Warmer Sussex (Sussex) or EcoFurb (London): if you’re based in the Sussex or London areas we’d recommend taking a look at Warmer Sussex or EcoFurb. They are retrofit services just like ours, run by RetrofitWorks who also run our delivery process – so you can expect the same level of care and expertise.
• TrustMark and Buy With Confidence: If there’s no whole house retrofit scheme near you, we’d recommend starting with TrustMark and Buy With Confidence to find local contractors near you that you can trust.

The time taken for the full process of having a Whole House Plan done for your home is approximately 5 weeks, but can vary, depending on various factors.

See our prices.

After your Retrofit Coordinator delivers your Whole House Plan, you’ll discuss the recommended measures and decide which to proceed with. Your Retrofit Coordinator will then send you a Client Services Agreement, outlining how we will work together to deliver your planned works, including our requirements from you and what we will provide.

This agreement details the payment for the Retrofit Coordinator’s time for the next steps, including project coordination with contractors, as well as the cost of any Building Performance Requirement (BPR) and Technical Specialist Reports needed. These costs are bespoke to your house and needs, but they will be clearly outlined, and your Retrofit Coordinator will be available to explain anything you’re unsure about.

There is a cost for project coordination as part of our service, which pays for our Retrofit Coordinator’s time – this will be detailed in your Client Service Agreement. This means that if you have the technical skills to coordinate all the elements to improve the energy performance and comfort of your home it may be, technically, cheaper to coordinate the project yourself by putting in the time needed at no cost.

However, the Retrofit Coordinator’s involvement will make the process much simpler and save you time, taking away all the admin that you would need to do yourself.

You can find out more about the role and value of Retrofit Coordinators in our blog post on the topic.

Contractors and suppliers who work on Cosy Homes Oxfordshire projects for homeowners have to first become members of the RetrofitWorks cooperative. This means they have been vetted through their application process, are members of the national quality assurance schemes TrustMark (www.trustmark.org.uk) and MCS (https://mcscertified.com/), and are being supported by the RetrofitWorks team and network.

Find out more about joining the RetrofitWorks cooperative: https://retrofitworks.co.uk/join/

All contractors working with Cosy Homes Oxfordshire will use licensed skip hire to dispose of waste from home retrofit projects. This ensures that all waste from the retrofit will be properly separated and disposed of accordingly, so skips will not be sent to landfill in their entirety and those materials which can be recycled will be.