With energy bills rising and our climate target deadlines looming, we need net-zero retrofit to mitigate runaway climate change and a devastating cost of living crisis. So, how can we afford it at the scale and speed we need?
One question we often face is, “but isn’t deep retrofit too expensive?” Our answer? We can’t afford *not* to do deep retrofit.
Yes, it’s expensive, especially currently as the supply chain is underdeveloped and underinvested. But the alternative is even more costly – piecemeal retrofit that will need to be updated 5, 10, 15 years down the line resulting in homes that continue to spew carbon emissions and cost the earth for tenants (literally and figuratively).
We also know however, that with little upfront capital and a lack of consistent funding, social housing providers struggle to afford whole house retrofit.
“Take boots, for example. He earned $38 a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost $50. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about $10.
…The thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford $50 had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in 10 years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet."
This is the challenge that social landlords currently face with asset management. They cannot afford to make the big changes needed, so instead make smaller upgrades that will cost more in the long-term.