Rethinking household energy use – the importance of retrofit.

A lot of existing buildings in the UK are poorly insulated and draughty, resulting in loss of heat and higher energy demand. To address climate change and rapidly reduce emissions we must both make the switch to renewable energy sources and reduce our energy use.

Better insulating our homes and buildings will make them more comfortable to live in and helps us to massively reduce our energy use, making it easier to rely on small scale renewable energy or reduce our energy bills.

Key information

• Duration: one day
• Upcoming date: Saturday 16 May 2026
• Start and finish times: starts at 9:30am and ends at 3:30pm
• Fee: £125
• Includes: tuition, buffet lunch.
• Terms and Conditions:

  • you must be 18 years or over to attend our courses.
  • For full list of terms and conditions click here

What you will learn

The course will offer an accessible guide to calculating heat loss and understanding ‘R’ and ‘U’ values. You’ll learn how to identify draughts and air leakage, and how improving them could result in better thermal comfort, efficiency, and economic savings.

Through a mixture of lectures and hands on sessions, you’ll also explore different insulation types and understand appropriate insulation material for different locations.

For anyone looking to run off grid or mainly rely on their own renewable energy source, reducing your energy use will be key to success, helping you better plan and understand what energy you require and better inform decisions about what system is right for you.

A basic knowledge of MS Excel (or equivalent) is desirable for this course.

Renewables for Households courses

This course is part of a series exploring renewable energy technologies for households. Each course can be taken as a standalone or as a series, where they will equip you with the skills and knowledge to implement different renewable technologies in your home.

• Introduction to Renewables for Households – Saturday 12 September 2026
• Renewables for Households: Heat Pumps – Sunday 13 September 2026
• Renewables for Households: Micro Hydro – Saturday 14 November 2026
• Renewables for Households: Wind Turbines – Sunday 15 November 2026
• Renewables for Households: Solar PV – Saturday 15 May 2027
• Renewables for Households: Retrofit – Sunday 16 May 2027
• Renewables for Households: Off Grid Energy Generation – 12 & 13 June 2027

Meet your tutor

Alan Owen is a Chartered Energy Engineer and lecturer on our postgraduate courses here at CAT. His research ranges from numerical modelling of sustainable energy systems and resources in Europe, to developing international sustainable energy policy and strategy in post-conflict/post-disaster areas of South East Asia.