Working in retrofit

People Powered Retrofit was set up to help people in Greater Manchester and the North West to retrofit their properties. But we don’t just support householders.

To grow the domestic retrofit market, we need to work with every part of the supply chain, supporting businesses and smoothing the friction that prevents many consumers following through with energy retrofit projects.

Do you work in construction and want to branch out into eco-improvements? People Powered Retrofit can help you get customers and develop your skills.

Read the factsheets below to discover the support we can give your business.

Please use the form below if you'd like to join our supply chain network, or to make a general enquiry about working in retrofit.

Or call 0161 826 0141, we can collect information about you over the phone instead of using the form if you'd prefer, or you can request a paper form.

Whether you’re a builder working alone, a small firm with a few employees or a more established construction company, if you’re interested in retrofit and based in the North West , we want to hear from you.

You might be keen to upskill your workers, or perhaps you already have some retrofit experience but want to expand your knowledge and learn new techniques.

People Powered Retrofit offers a range of retrofit support for contractors, from finding customers to training your staff, solving complications to advising on technical decision-making.

Finding customers

Every week we speak to householders in Greater Manchester and the North West who are interested in improving the energy performance of their home. Contrary to popular brief, we know that clients will pay for quality retrofit measures – they don’t always want the cheapest option.

People Powered Retrofit also organises match-making events where contractors, consultants and householders mingle and discuss potential jobs. This speed-dating style meet-up is always well-attended and regularly ends in a number of retrofit jobs being taken forward.

Educating your clients

We support householders to be ‘good’ clients – ensuring their relationship with you is satisfactory for all. This is about helping people to understand the retrofit process, something that always begins with a crystal-clear brief. We also support clients around budgeting, technical decision making and quality control, helping them to foresee issues and reduce the likelihood of complications.

Training and on-site support

Retrofit is quite an immature market and many great contractors will have knowledge gaps around energy efficiency measures. People Powered Retrofit offers free and low cost, on-the-job ‘Toolbox Talks’ which can improve understanding and develop skills around a particular retrofit technique.

If you’re open to learning new techniques and procedures, or if a client has proposed a new product or approach you’ve not seen before, get in touch. The informal training sessions we offer reinforce knowledge and develop confidence.

Our Retrofit Coordinators can also signpost you to further information or assistance on a particular technique. That might be a manual, video, online article or further training.

At People Powered Retrofit we also offer high quality online and face-to-face training. These include practical workshops, masterclasses and webinars led by industry professionals. Find out more about our training services.

Technical challenges

Our Retrofit Advisors and Retrofit Co-ordinators have a wealth of energy efficiency experience and they can support you and your clients on the technical details of a project. If you have a burning question about a particular technique or procedure, or if you need guidance and direction, we can point you to the relevant information.

Finding sub-contractors

Retrofit can be a lonely business. It’s not easy to find like-minded construction workers with experience or interest in energy performance measures.

At People Powered Retrofit our aim is to change this. We’ve been growing a network of builders and tradespeople with retrofit experience. This community of specialists shares information, swaps contacts and answers queries through a WhatApp chat group, email list, face-to-face meet-ups and knowledge-sharing events.

Procurement of work

We are always looking for new contractors to include in our clients’ procurement exercises. There’s no framework fees or hidden charges, we’re just interested in getting the best deal for our clients and expanding the sector for everyone. Get in touch to express an interest.

Every week we receive dozens of enquiries from householders in Greater Manchester and the North West who want to retrofit their homes. That includes people planning extensions and layout changes alongside energy efficiency improvements. There is a real demand for architects and designers, with clients willing to pay for good design. Whatever support you or your client need, at whatever stage, People Powered Retrofit is here to help.

Informing your clients

Householders who are unfamiliar with retrofit and unaware of the decisions involved can represent a lot of time and effort to an architect, particularly a small firm.

That’s where People Powered Retrofit can help. We aim to send better briefed clients your way. A central part of our service is informing householders about the retrofit process. We help people to write their own Retrofit Project Brief, assess the energy performance of their property and think through the technical possibilities.

Technical direction

Maybe you’ve already been appointed by your client, but you need some specialist retrofit advice. Again, People Powered Retrofit can support technical decision making around your client’s energy efficiency project. Tap into the knowledge of our experienced Retrofit Advisors: they’re happy to provide expertise and answer your questions. This can include a range of subjects - from how to tackle a tricky bit of thermal bridge detailing or air-tightness; to support in an investigation, modelling or testing; to how to consider the risks of future summer overheating and glazing strategies.

Quality assurance

We can provide a Retrofit Coordinator to help oversee standards on site and skilling up of contractors, allowing you to focus on design rather than worrying about quality control. Get in touch to find out more about how People Powered Retrofit can support with quality assurance.

Finding contractors

We’ve been developing a network of builders and suppliers in Greater Manchester and the North West who specialise in delivering energy efficiency measures. Contact us so we can connect you with this growing community.

Our engagement with householders in Greater Manchester and the North West shows that many people need advice from services engineers about retrofit systems for their properties. Demand is there for things like well-designed heat pumps and ventilation systems. We can put you in touch with people willing to pay for your services.

At People Powered Retrofit, we try to take care of those initial client conversations, so you speak to a more knowledgeable client with a clear idea of the energy efficiency measures they’re after.

We work with hundreds of householders across Greater Manchester and the North West who are in the process of retrofitting their homes and may be interested in your products. Our growing community of architects, engineers and contractors, all specialising in energy efficiency works, might also want to find out about your systems and solutions.

In the past, suppliers have offered product discounts to the householders we work with and these have been received well. See some examples here. Get in touch if you can offer similar discounts.

At People Powered Retrofit we also work with suppliers offering CPD sessions to householders, builders, architects and engineers. If you’re interested in running a training session where you can share valuable insight and knowledge about your products, then get in touch.