Dom and Kerstin McCann

Dom McCann, an acoustic engineer, lives in a 1920s semi in Prestwich, North Manchester with his wife, Kerstin and their 15-year-old son.

Why did you retrofit your home?

I’ve been interested in reducing carbon emissions for a long time and had made some small changes to our house but didn’t know enough. I also couldn’t find the right people to do the work. Then I came across Carbon Co-op and URBED and put my name down for a deep retrofit programme they were running with 12 homes in Greater Manchester.

They did an assessment of our house anddeveloped a spec for the retrofit. After that, they got quotes from contractorsand sorted out grants. Building workstarted in February 2014 and finishedfour months later. We then had solarpanels fitted.

What eco-renovations did you make?

The improvements in 2014 included wall and floor insulation, triple-glazed windows, extract fans, through-wall vents and solar panels. Carbon Co-op procured and managed all the sub-contractors delivering the work.

With the urgency of climate change still at the forefront of my mind, I thought, ‘why stop here? Let’s carry on.’ So, in 2019 we replaced a ‘leaky’ bi-fold back door with a triple glazed one and upgraded a bay window, keeping the original leaded glass but draught-proofing it.

I also looked at air source heat pumps. With gas boilers, people run their radiators really hot, the house heats up quickly but they’re not efficient in terms of energy use. Heat pumps work differently. They take heat from the air, increase the temperature through a compressor and transfer it to the heating and hot water system. Your radiators don’t get as hot with a heat pump, so you need a well-insulated house.

What benefits have you seen?

After we did our first retrofit, even before fitting the air source heat pump, the house felt cosier. I didn’t find myself grabbing a sweater as often.

With the insulation and triple glazed windows, the temperature felt more even. The house was warmer in winter and slightly cooler in summer.

Before the first retrofit in 2014, we were spending about £900 on utilities every year. That came down to £600 for the gas and electricity, and when Feed-in Tariff (FIT) rates were at a high, we were generating around £400 of electricity. So, at one time, our net utility bills dropped to about £200 a year.

We haven’t had the air source heat pump for very long but it’s just as cosy as it was with gas central heating. Our first bill has shown what we can expect over a year: roughly a 55% reduction in household energy use and a 68% reduction in energy for heating and hot water.

Before we did all these retrofit works, we had some rooms that were too cold in winter or too warm in summer. Now all the rooms are just right.

How did People Powered Retrofit help?

They opened my eyes to funding, helped me find contractors and choose the right retrofit measures. People Powered Retrofit will give you the right technical advice and help you avoid the pitfalls, so you don’t choose the wrong products. They can also help to inspect and support quality control on the works.