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 of the Ecofurb service, 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 bills and carbon emissions, and improve residents’ health
Chris Newman 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. They have more than delivered, with a retrofit that has won recognition from Architects Journal, and the 2025 Home Building and Renovating Awards.
David joined forces with Russell soon after he set up his advice service for homeowners, which has since expanded and become part of Cotality UK. 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.
Liz joined the team in 2018, but before that frequently crossed their paths while hosting Open House visits to retrofitted homes in London, running Green Fairs in Brixton and Camden, and while working for Citizens Advice assessing how data and advice services could improve homeowners’ experience of energy efficiency.
While her current home was built to be energy efficient, with super-insulation and triple glazing, since moving in 2019 she’s further reduced bills and carbon emissions by adding solar PV, battery storage and EV chargers. She’s also improved the air quality with a new ventilation system and – most recently – an air-to-air heat pump to remove reliance on a wood-burning stove for space heating.
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.