There are two things “assessing a home for retrofit” can mean, and it’s worth knowing which one applies to you. A formal PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment is the funded, programme-scale process behind larger retrofit schemes – not something an individual homeowner books directly. What you can get as a single homeowner is testing – air tightness, thermal imaging, ventilation – combined with options modelling to build a practical, prioritised plan for your own home. Here’s what that testing covers, the methods behind it and how it turns into a plan you can actually act on.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
- What a home retrofit assessment actually involves
- The surveying methods used to build a complete picture of your home’s energy use
- How that testing and modelling turns into a prioritised, cost-effective plan
Home Retrofit Assessment Surveying Methods
This is the testing individual homeowners can access directly – the diagnostic backbone of a retrofit plan, distinct from the formal PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment used on funded, portfolio-scale schemes. To get a complete picture of a property’s condition, our team uses several surveying methods:
- Cavity Wall Inspection: a borescope, a camera-equipped device, is used to examine the cavity between two walls in modern properties, helping identify issues like moisture build-up, insulation problems and potential mould growth.
- Thermographic Survey: an infrared thermal imaging camera is used to detect heat patterns, revealing areas of excessive heat loss due to air leakage, poor insulation or structural weaknesses – information that helps target improvements for better energy efficiency.
- Air Tightness Test: this test measures how much air escapes through cracks and gaps in a home’s envelope. Identifying these leakage points allows for targeted improvements to reduce draughts and heat loss.
A three-part home energy assessment – air tightness testing, thermal imaging and a ventilation review – for a Bristol homeowner:
Turning Testing Into a Retrofit Plan
Following the testing above, IOE (Improvement Option Evaluation) modelling – essentially optioneering – weighs up which improvements make sense for your specific home, on cost-effectiveness and environmental benefit. This is what turns a set of test results into an actual, prioritised retrofit plan, whether or not a formal PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment is involved in your case.
What Acting on the Plan Can Achieve
- Reduced Energy Bills: addressing the inefficiencies testing identifies can significantly lower energy consumption and save money on utility bills.
- Improved Comfort: a well-sealed and insulated home means a more comfortable living environment with consistent temperatures throughout the year.
- Reduced Carbon Footprint: lower energy usage means a smaller environmental impact.
- Increased Property Value: energy-efficient properties are attractive to potential buyers, and can increase resale value.
What’s Next?
If you’re a homeowner in the Bristol area, the testing and optioneering described above is exactly what you can access directly – see the Retrofit West case study for what that looks like in practice. A formal PAS 2035 Retrofit Assessment, by contrast, is the version we deliver nationwide at portfolio and programme scale, typically for funded schemes.
We carry out home energy surveys and testing for single Bristol-area properties, and PAS 2035 retrofit assessments for portfolios and programmes nationwide.
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