Abstract
There is widespread interest in the ability of retrofit schemes to shape domestic energy use in order to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions. Although much has been written on the topic, there have been few large-scale ex post evaluations of the actual impacts of such schemes. We address this by assessing domestic energy use before and after the Kirklees Warm Zone (KWZ) scheme, which by fitting insulation in 51,000 homes in the 2007–2010 period is one of the largest retrofit schemes completed in the UK to date. To do this, we develop and apply a new methodology that isolates the impacts of retrofit activity from broader background trends in energy use. The results suggest that the actual impacts of the KWZ scheme have been higher than predicted, and that the scale of any performance gaps or rebound effects have been lower than has often been assumed. They also suggest that impacts on energy use in lower income areas are consistent with predictions, but that impacts in middle and higher income areas are higher than predicted. These findings support the case for the wider and/or accelerated adoption of domestic retrofit schemes in other contexts.
Highlights
Introduced retrofit schemes that attempt to overcome these barriers and to influence the diverse behaviours and practices that give rise to energy use in buildings
Policy debates on domestic sector retrofit frequently emphasise the scale of the opportunity to improve domestic energy efficiency, the presence of various barriers that prevent households from doing so, and the role that different forms of policy intervention can play in overcoming these barriers
In some contexts prominent voices in those policy debates have become sceptical about the ability of retrofit schemes – and of the measures that they seek to promote, and the agencies that are charged with implementing them-to deliver real reductions in fuel poverty, energy bills or carbon emissions
Summary
Introduced retrofit schemes that attempt to overcome these barriers and to influence the diverse behaviours and practices that give rise to energy use in buildings. The KWZ scheme is a good case study through which to conduct such a detailed analysis because of the scale and geographical concentration of its activities and the data that was collected by the local authority both on the insulation measures that were installed and the different types of buildings that they were installed in (see below) This makes it possible for this study to discern the impacts of retrofit activity on household energy use and bills, and carbon emissions, using data on energy use in small geographical areas that is publically available at the local level. We conclude by discussing the significance of these results for broader debates on energy saving in the domestic sector and for policies on retrofit
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