We all want to do our bit to help the planet but sometimes the wealth of information out there can seem a little overwhelming.

Having a Whole House Retrofit Plan takes the stress out of it as an experienced retrofit coordinator takes you through each step and looks at the best way to carry out work on your home to make it carbon neutral.

We've had a chat with retrofit coordinator Andrew Sadler to share more about the process and to see how it could benefit you in the long term.

We started by asking Andrew why people want to take this next step towards becoming carbon neutral.

“A lot of people know that they need to do something and you’ve got the cost of living crisis which is on everybody’s mind. People want to do the right thing for the environment,” he says.

So, where do you start? The first step is usually looking at how well insulated your loft is and then looking at your windows.

“If you’ve got a cold loft then it’s the best bang for your buck, it’s a fairly simple thing to do and it’s relatively cheap in comparison to some of the other retrofit options.

“Look at your windows. If you’ve got single glazed windows that is going to be a weak point. If you have cavity walls and you haven’t had insulation then it’s fairly simple to put cavity wall insulation in.

“It’s good having an expert there to drive you through the options and look at the pros and cons and the things to think about, like ventilation."

So, when do you start to look at ditching your boiler?

“We always start with the fabric on the basis that we want to reduce your energy demand and make the building comfortable to live in.

"Once we’ve done that we look at whether or not you stick with a gas boiler or if it may be worth investigating a heat pump.

“Part of the retrofit plan is looking at whether the air source or the ground source pump would be better, where the heat pump would be positioned and what you might need to do about radiators or underfloor heating.

“Then we look at things like solar panels and batteries and how that might integrate with an electric vehicle charging point.

“It’s about getting all of those thoughts in your mind and then working out which ones to attack first.”

If you would like to find out more about whether a Whole House Retrofit Plan is the right next step for your home, please email [email protected] or visit petersfieldcan.org/home-energy/home-retrofitting to find out more information.