Recent news of homes and lives being destroyed by unsuitable insulation drives home the message that independence is critical for getting home retrofit right. Severn Wye CEO Sandy Ruthven explains why.
The government has revealed that more than 30,000 UK homes – out of an audit of 60,000 – have had poorly installed external wall insulation under publicly funded schemes like ECO and the GBIS since 20221. This is a scandal – particularly because retrofit programmes have failed before and the lessons haven’t been learned.
Energy Consumer Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh called it a ”systemic failure” and it’s one that urgently needs putting right. Because the difference between average energy bills for homes with a low EPC rating of F and those with an EPC C is more than £3,0002 and it typically falls on those who can least afford it. With 19 million UK homes needing better insulation according to government figures3, we can’t afford to get this wrong.
If we’re going to lower fuel bills for the poorest and reduce our carbon emissions, then home retrofit must be at the heart of our strategy. But this recent revelation reflects what Severn Wye assessors frequently see during home visits. While insulation is an excellent first step in achieving good energy efficiency, done badly it can put householders at risk of damp and mould potentially making their home uninhabitable and costing tens of thousands of pounds to put right. No one should be put into this position, especially those who have received government grants to retrofit their homes.
But insulation is not a novel technology; so, what’s behind this problem?
Grant funding for home energy efficiency is crucial for the UK to reach its net zero goals, but it can create an unfortunate incentive to do the work quickly and cheaply, and the current ECO and GBIS schemes responsible for all the failures have seriously flawed quality assurance and incentive mechanisms.
Currently most quality assurance (called a retrofit assessment) is done by the people who install the insulation. Most are proud of their work and take responsibility when things go wrong.
But the skewed incentives and lack of independent oversight mean too many choose products based largely on profit margin rather than effectiveness. Then, when the install is done, they can mark their own work and sign it off. It’s usually impossible for the householder to know if their insulation is properly installed and if the job is done badly the resulting damp and mould may only appear several years later. Training people to use new technology like heat pumps and ventilation systems is also time consuming and if it’s neglected householders may exacerbate problems through no fault of their own.
Retrofit assessments and sign off at the end needs to be done by an independent body like Severn Wye. An independent assessment of each home means the recommended measures will be the right ones, installed well, and householders will be supported to use them properly. Then, at the end of the process, sign-off to industry PAS 2035 standards means householders are insured against any future problems.
No-one should have to bear the cost and health risks of poor work that’s allowed to go unchecked by the very scheme intended to make their lives better. Independent assessment and sign off is the only way forward – and future government funding schemes must insist upon it.
Sources
30,000 homes fitted with botched insulation under government schemes, ministers admit – BBC News
Rightmove Greener Homes Report 2025
BBC report, UK’s Climate Change Committee 2022
