For Mike Freeston, that was exactly his thinking when he and his wife decided to update their property.

The couple, who live in a detached property in Petersfield, heard about the Petersfield Area SuperHomes (PASH) project and decided it would be a good idea.

Mike said: “We were thinking about doing work to the house and we were thinking about insulating the ground floor so we were already on that path when this project came up.

“We wanted to learn more about the project and support it and find out more about what we could do.

“The cost can be a restriction for some people and clearly it’s something we need to do more of.”

The couple had the whole of the ground floor of their property insulated.

“Our primary driver was to make the house warmer,” Mike added

“We’ve got solar panels on the roof and we’ve also now got a battery in the garage which we find very good so those are the main things.

“We had a basic level of insulation in the loft and a few years ago it was topped up.”

So, would Mike recommend getting a plan?

“I would say yes - definitely go for it, if for no other reason than for interest. It’s good to find out how you can improve things.

“Having the retrofit coordinator come here was really interesting, especially having the ability to talk to them about what we were thinking about doing. That was really good.”

A professional retrofit coordinator carries out an independent, impartial assessment looking at the energy efficiency of your home. They take that assessment and produce a plan of the changes that you could make to you home to reduce your energy bills, increase your comfort levels and reduce your carbon footprint. Recommendations will vary from house to house but will often include the following measures:

• Loft insulation
• Cavity wall insulation
• Double glazing
• Ventilation
• Solar panels to generate renewable energy on the roof
• Changing a gas or oil heating system for a low carbon heat system such as a heat pump

Critically the plan gives you a whole house view and is independent, giving you the confidence to engage with installers when it is right for you. PeCAN can provide a list of qualified Retrofit Coordinators and Installers that operate in the local area for you to engage with.

Click to watch Mike's story

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