Meet Roger, a passionate artist, cyclist, food grower and eco-homeowner, who lives in a 1930s terraced house in Waltham Forest, London, which he has transformed into an energy-efficient, warm and cosy home.
Roger was keen to reduce his home’s environmental footprint and energy use.
When his ancient boiler gave out, he approached Ecofurb to help him plan and manage his home retrofit project – including new windows, a significant boiler upgrade and external wall insulation.
It might not have happened without Ecofurb. I wouldn’t have been as confident about it all.
“I decided to go ahead with the report [Ecofurb Plan], and that, I thought really helped get things going and pointed me in the right direction,” Roger says. “And I found it really helpful that Ecofurb was project-managing the installation of the external wall insulation…it might not have happened without Ecofurb, I wouldn’t have been as confident about it all.”
Ben, the Retrofit Coordinator, helped Roger liaise with the contractors who were undertaking the work through a shared WhatsApp Chat – which in turn helped Roger get approval from building control using pictures shared in the Chat of the measures being undertaken. As part of the Ecofurb Plan service, Ben also advised to include trickle vents on the windows, which Roger hadn‘t thought of when thinking about his window upgrades.
It wasn’t all plain sailing. The construction work was messy and disruptive; Roger felt it was a little strange living in a house wrapped in blue polythene. But, reflecting on the end result, Roger explains, “it just transformed the look of the house. It wasn’t the aim, really. But I ended up with a house that looks really rather good.”
I ended up with a house that looks really rather good… my bills in July and August: 8% of the previous year.
Not only did the new insulation and windows improve the look of Roger’s house, it also helped his south-facing bedroom stay consistently cooler in July/August with reductions of ~8-9 degrees Celsius.
Even better, his gas usage dropped dramatically – his summer bills were a fraction of the cost of the previous year at an impressive 8% – in part helped by his decision to only turn the water heating on whenever he needed it, rather than using a timer.
When asked what advice he would give to other homeowners thinking about refurbishing their own homes, Roger says, “You know, I think it’s a worthwhile thing to do. And it’s up to the individual whether to do it or not… I suppose they [should] use a good project manager!”
We check that all our partners hold the right accreditations for the work they do, and will advise you on what is appropriate.
This includes any required industry standards, and normally includes TrustMark registration. Our renewable energy generation installers are MCS certified.
For most grant-funded work, or if you request it, we and our contractors can work to government PAS (Publicly Available Specification) 2035.