Human-Centred Retrofit - a year of listening

(This is a long and interesting read. Once you’ve read the introduction, feel welcome to skip the methodology and go to the findings. (We’ll use headers.) We know that many people will be fascinated by the engagement work we did led by Community Engagement Lead Helen Todd though so no apologies for the length of the article.)

Over the last year our team has conducted community engagement throughout South Yorkshire to understand barriers to home retrofit adoption and develop effective solutions. Using a Human-Centred Design approach, we engaged diverse communities through listening conversations, focus groups, community events, and prototype testing to develop practical solutions that meet real needs. 

Our human-centred design approach involved three phases: exploration, ideation and prototypes and testing.

Exploration

We began with a review of existing research before doing deep community listening to understand lived experiences, challenges, and aspirations regarding home energy efficiency and retrofit.

Ideation

Building on community insights, we generated potential solutions through: Development of 'How might we...?' questions based on key barriers identified; Ideation workshops with community members in Sheffield and Penistone and Prioritisation exercises to focus on ideas with highest potential impact We’ll be sharing how these conversations develop over the coming weeks.

Prototype and Testing

We developed and tested several practical solutions: community events in partnership with local organisations and retrofit providers; self-assessment retrofit toolkit enabling homeowners to understand their property's needs and help overcome barriers; library information display to provide information beyond in person events; tailored communication materials and online engagement addressing identified information gaps and feedback collection methods integrated into service delivery.

Findings

Barriers to Retrofit Adoption

People had more than one barrier. These were the most common.

Financial constraints is the biggest barrier, with high upfront costs deterring even environmentally motivated homeowners; trust issues were pervasive, with widespread concerns about ‘cowboy contractors’ and failed retrofit projects; information complexity created decision paralysis; disruption concerns deterred many, particularly families; limited capacity to manage complex projects amid competing life demands affected households across income levels; planning permission complications in conservation areas created additional hurdles

Motivations for Retrofit

Again, the motivators were often interconnected.

Environmental concerns were a strong driver for early adopters who had completed significant retrofit work, and of varying importance to other people; comfort improvements and health benefits were powerful secondary motivators; energy bill savings were important but often difficult to quantify; future-proofing homes for climate resilience appealed to forward-thinking homeowners; community action motivated some who wanted to be part of collective change

Enablers for Successful Retrofit

Trust in professionals was critical for moving from intention to action; integration with other home improvements made retrofit more appealing and cost-effective; phased approaches helped manage costs and disruption; peer recommendations and word-of-mouth significantly influenced decision-making; independent, trustworthy advice that is seen as separate from contractor interests.

Please contact us to learn more about this research or to hear where we’ll be talking about it next! We’ve spoken about this at one conference and are about to book another one in for June.

Thanks as always to the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub who funded this community engagement work. Without this funding, how would we know which solutions are most viable for community members?