We specialise in transforming homes for better comfort and energy efficiency through our expert retrofit services. Our goal is to make your home more sustainable and cost-effective, subsequently making your home a healthier living environment for you and your family.
Our chartered architects conduct a detailed thermal imaging survey of your home to identify insulation weak spots and air leaks. We then suggest the best practices for retrofit improvements, ensuring your home becomes more energy efficient and comfortable.
Begin your retrofit journey with a home visit and a thermographic imaging survey. We provide a comprehensive report highlighting quick fixes and more extensive retrofit opportunities to enhance comfort and cut down on energy bills.
Following PAS 2035 principles, we start by understanding the current performance of your home. We then assess and quantify the impact of new energy efficiency measures, providing budget costs and expected energy savings, ensuring you get the best value.
Achieve the highest performance and lowest running costs with EnerPHit, the retrofit certification from the Passivhaus Institute. This certification ensures strict adherence to energy use and airtightness standards, providing long-term benefits for your home.
Retrofit involves upgrading your building to improve comfort, reduce energy bills, and lower carbon emissions. It mainly focuses on enhancing insulation in walls, floors, roofs, and windows, ensuring your home retains heat better. This means less energy is needed to heat your home, saving you money and providing a more stable and comfortable living environment. It is also important to install the correct ventilation systems, to ensure we avoid creating condensation and damp issues. Once insulation is optimised, you can add renewable energy sources like solar panels and heat pumps to further reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
A shallow retrofit involves minor, incremental improvements to a building’s efficiency and comfort, such as upgrading insulation in specific areas, installing energy-efficient lighting, sealing windows and doors to reduce drafts, and adding basic smart thermostat systems. These changes are generally lower in cost and quicker to implement but offer moderate improvements in energy efficiency and comfort without drastically reducing energy consumption or the building’s carbon footprint. In contrast, a deep retrofit encompasses comprehensive, holistic upgrades that often involve multiple building systems. This could include extensive insulation improvements, advanced heating and ventilation system upgrades, replacement of outdated equipment like boilers and controls, integration of renewable energy sources, and a thorough redesign of the energy management strategy. Although more costly and time-consuming, deep retrofits significantly enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and improve overall building performance and comfort.
Determining the suitability of your home for a retrofit involves evaluating various factors. Key considerations include the age and structural integrity of your home, as older homes often benefit significantly from retrofits. Assessing the current energy efficiency through an energy audit can identify specific areas for improvement. Additionally, evaluating the condition of existing systems, such as heating, cooling, windows, and doors, can highlight opportunities for upgrades. Your budget and specific goals for comfort, energy savings, and sustainability will also play a crucial role in determining the feasibility and scope of a retrofit.
We can assist in determining the budget for each energy-saving measure or for a comprehensive package of upgrades implemented together. Each measure, whether it’s a single improvement or part of a combined strategy, involves a one-off upfront cost. To make an informed decision, it’s crucial to evaluate these initial expenses against the long-term benefits and see if the pay-back period is deemed worth the investment. This also includes calculating the potential reduction in carbon emissions. This holistic approach ensures that the financial outlay is justified by the long-term gains in efficiency and environmental impact.
I'm thrilled to share my positive experience with Ross who crafted a brilliant extension and dormer bungalow plan. His attention to detail, creativity, and professionalism exceeded my expectations. The design perfectly blends functionality with aesthetics, creating a space that truly feels like home. I highly recommend his services for anyone looking for a skilled and thoughtful architect.
We have worked from drawings produced by Sharpe Williams Design numerous times now - they are highly detailed and clearly laid out helping our projects to progress smoothly.
SWD designed and oversaw the works undertaken to my garage conversion. The process was explained clearly and the communication was great throughout. The drawings really maximised the space we had available, something we highlighted as crucial from the outset. Highly recommend.
Ross recently helped me out with planning permission issues on my side extension, absolutely no hassle - would highly recommend.
We are committed to providing high quality and value for money retrofit services that make your home more comfortable, energy-efficient, and cheaper to run. Get in touch today to get started!
We combine modern architecture with sustainability to deliver innovative and long-lasting designs.