About this Project
The Somerset Retrofit Accelerator project was a partnership between Frome, Bruton and Glastonbury Town Councils, the four District Councils in Somerset, Somerset Independence Plus and the Centre for Sustainable Energy.
The one year pilot project was funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund.
The project aimed to develop the supply chain for low carbon, whole house retrofitting of homes in Somerset through:
- 50 discounted Home Retrofit plans for Somerset households in partnership with Futureproof
- 30 paid places on the Futureproof Essentials course for local construction professionals
- Creating new online resources through a Green Directory for Somerset
- Showcasing low carbon homes through virtual online tours
Building on that work, Retrofit Somerset is an MCS funded project, hosted by Somerset Climate Action Network with the same partners.
It is delivering a business plan for a domestic retrofit support service, developing a data dashboard to identify opportunities for large scale retrofit by community or housing type and piloting innovative services to accelerate the uptake of retrofit measures.
Low carbon retrofit plans for Somerset households
Want to make your home a more comfortable and sustainable place to live, but don’t know where to start?
Home Retrofit Plans are available to households in Somerset.The plans will be based on your needs, aspirations for your home and budget, and will help you understand what measures may be the most appropriate and impactful for you.
Somerset Green Open Homes events
During the Summer of 2022 we held four Green Open Homes live webinars showcasing retrofitted homes across Somerset. Homeowners gave virtual tours of their properties and the eco improvements they have made, sharing their experiences and knowledge.
You can view the recordings of the webinars below.
You can also find case studies for each home in our Retrofit Stories.
Retrofit training for construction professionals
The Green Register offered 30 fully funded retrofit training places for construction professionals based in Somerset as part of the Somerset Retrofit Accelerator project. Learners meeting the eligibility criteria could benefit from training with The Green Register’s online Futureproof Essentials training course, which provides cornerstone knowledge on the key aspects of sustainable construction and retrofit.
The Futureproof Essentials course is an online introductory training package designed to help learners to start to understand the Whole House Retrofit (WHR) approach.
The following topics are included in the course
- why building sustainably matters for our future
- standards and guidance available for assessing retrofit projects
- specifying low impact building materials
- minimising moisture movement in buildings
- optimising the efficiency of building services
- good practice solid wall insulation
- efficient use of water
- airtightness and ventilation strategies
Learners benefit from certification from The Green Register and third-party NOCN One Award certification upon successful completion of the course.
To benefit from the free training offer, applicants must have been:
- A contractor, tradesperson, architect, surveyor, building control officer, builders’ merchant, planner, retrofit assessor or any other construction professional either in employment or not currently employed
- Have a registered business or home address in Somerset
The 30 training places were available on a first-come-first-served basis to those meeting the eligibility requirements.
More information on the training course is available HERE.