An installer survey of the state of the UK’s private housing retrofit market

Residential energy efficiency and heating system upgrades have long been important elements of the UK’s strategy for decarbonisation. With over 80 % of UK homes being privately owned, the development of a viable and thriving market for owner-occupiers and private landlords is key to achieving climate targets. However, the market is still very small and past policy failures are known to have undermined industry confidence.

A telephone survey was carried out in November 2023 with 200 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), all members of a UK construction trade association, the Federation of Master Builders. Firms were asked their views on the current state of the energy retrofit market and on the confidence they had in their own ability to answer customer questions and carry out energy efficiency projects.

Smaller firms tend to focus predominantly on repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) projects, while larger firms do both RMI and new construction. Compared with the larger firms in the survey, the smaller firms reported lower levels of confidence in their ability to answer customer questions on energy efficiency, and their ability to carry out energy efficiency projects. Across all respondents, the self-reported confidence to respond to customers exceeds the level of customer demand encountered.

Cost of materials was perceived to be the single largest barrier to energy efficiency, followed by labour costs and lack of demand. Other perceived risks and uncertainties relate to uncertain supply chains, policy, time-consuming administration and an aversion to using new materials and technologies.