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Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is a pilot scheme by three project partners, aiming to make retrofit simple

If we want to meet targets and reduce the threat of climate change we need to address energy use in the home.

Home energy consumption accounts for 14% of total carbon emissions in the UK. According to Ofgem an average UK home with a medium energy consumption uses 12,000 kWh of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity per year (2020 figures). That represents total carbon emissions of over 3,000kg per year.

These figures could be drastically reduced through making energy efficiency improvements to our homes – reducing energy use to cut carbon emissions. Plus, making these improvements also makes our homes healthier and more comfortable to spend time in through addressing issues such as damp and draughts.

But doing retrofit in the right way is complex, and will likely involve significant amounts of time spent researching and project managing. So that’s where Cosy Homes Oxfordshire comes in – offering a simple solution to retrofit for Oxfordshire’s homeowners.

The pilot phase

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is currently in a pilot project phase. The project came about as part of a grant call from the UK Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which would fund projects working to address barriers to develop a market for home retrofit. Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is the result of a grant bid by three partners in Oxfordshire: Low Carbon Hub, National Energy Foundation, and RetrofitWorks. The bid was successful and so we are currently funded by BEIS for this pilot phase, allowing us to test and develop the business model until March 2021, when the intention is for Cosy Homes Oxfordshire to exist as its own entity.

During this pilot phase we are constantly working to monitor and improve the experience for our homeowner clients in order to keep learning and informing the eventual full-scale roll out of this retrofit service. Therefore, if you’ve registered your home with us we’d always love to hear your feedback – drop us an email on info@cosyhomesoxfordshire.org.

Working with our local community

We are also working closely with our local community for the pilot phase, engaging with low carbon community groups across Oxfordshire to roll out the service and share information with members who are particularly keen to tackle the climate crisis.

The groups have been busy sharing information about Cosy Homes Oxfordshire and home retrofit through their social media channels, newsletters, and events.

The project partners

RetrofitWorks

RetrofitWorks is a membership co-operative for vetted retrofit professionals, offering training and development for their members.

RetrofitWorks also runs a series of home retrofit schemes across the UK, using their expertise to invigorate a local supply chain to deliver energy saving refurbishment works for local homes. They typically collaborate with community organisations or local stakeholders to deliver these schemes – including Cosy Homes Oxfordshire.

Low Carbon Hub

The Low Carbon Hub is a social enterprise, based in Oxford, that’s out to prove we can meet our energy needs in a way that’s good for people and good for the planet. They do this through building and managing community-owned renewable energy generation projects across Oxfordshire, as well as working on several collaborative projects and programmes to improve energy efficiency and increase renewable energy generation.

National Energy Foundation

The National Energy Foundation is a charity at the forefront of improving the use of energy in buildings. They provide impartial advice to people and organisations as well as undertaking research and innovation, and are particularly focused on tackling fuel poverty.

They also work with local authorities across Oxfordshire to deliver their Better Housing Better Health (BHBH) programme.

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