What is the story behind the Ecofurb service?
Founder Russell Smith says Ecofurb is the service he needed when he did his own home retrofit project twenty years ago.
The Ecofurb Story – how it all began
While planning to make his home more energy efficient, Russell Smith, Founder and MD of Parity Projects, felt frustrated: he wanted to know which improvements would have the greatest impact on carbon emissions, which would bring the most value, and how they would work together.
He found that the advice he wanted didn’t exist – it was either too generic or too biased.
Ecofurb is the service he needed back then, providing impartial advice that considers the needs of each home and its owners.
The original Ecofurber
Russell’s original home energy efficiency retrofit was an ambitious project. Completed nearly 20 years ago, it was ahead of its time, including as it did external wall insulation, loft insulation, new windows and doors and an air source heat pump.
Being an engineer by training, Russell was able to do a lot of his own heat loss calculations and cost-benefit modelling – and that’s how Parity Projects came into being.
A team committed to retrofitting homes to reduce carbon emissions
Chris Newman is a director of Parity Projects and helped to set up Ecofurb with the aim of taking learnings from mass home retrofit projects and putting them into a service to benefit people who want to retrofit their own home.
In 2012, he and his wife Nette moved from renting to a house in Peckham to accommodate their new family. They’d bought a period property which hadn’t been touched for 40 years and needed some serious attention in most ways.
They were super keen to do a deep renovation for energy efficiency, both to help combat climate change, and to have a comfortable home after living in a cold and damp house.
Turning a passion for the planet into practical action
David has been at Parity Projects as Director since shortly after Russell founded the company. He’s also “walked the talk”, completing a retrofit project on his 1920s semi-detached home which included external wall insulation, an insulated roof on the conservatory, an air source heat pump and new windows.
Since doing the works, David says he’s saved 40% on his energy bills per year – savings with a monetary value that tripled almost overnight in 2022.
Ecofurb and its partners provide expert, accredited advice
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.