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UW November 2022 HR single pages

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30 | NOVEMBER 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Case study Going Dutch With calls for energy efficiency reaching fever pitch, Ian Hutchcroft examines why the UK needs to get much more ambitious with retrofit, and how the Dutch may have the perfect model to replicate. A s the stark reality of the energy crisis unfolded this summer, it was hard to truly comprehend the devastation this winter will bring as multiple 35C-plus heatwaves blazed across the country. We do, however, know it will be beyond anything we've seen in recent years. Government intervention will bring some welcome short-term relief. Yet, as many experts have pointed out, immediately investing in a national retrofit programme offers a sensible, long-term solution. At Energiesprong UK, we know that it's also essen- tial we take a different approach to how things have traditionally been done – a departure which offers new opportunities for the utilities sector. We must rethink retrofit The way we currently deliver retrofit – on-site, incre- mentally and using traditional building methods – won't deliver the results we need at the scale, speed or cost required for the climate crisis or the millions of people about to be plunged into fuel poverty. What's the alternative? Over the past seven years, we have been pioneering a revolutionary deep retrofit model called Energiesprong in the UK. It's a successful Dutch-developed standard and funding approach for whole-house refurbishment and new-build. It is designed to unlock zero carbon retrofit at scale, paid for by energy and maintenance savings and delivered by a new high-tech British industry – resulting in performance, comfort and low costs long term, and warm, affordable, desirable homes for life. Homes are fully insulated using off-site manufactured wall and roof panels in conjunction with pre-assembled "energy pods" – systems which manage a home's retro- fitted renewable technologies, energy storage and smart controls. When coupled with appropriate tariffs, this Photo: Tracey Whitefoot Ian Hutchcroft, director, Energiesprong UK

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