crucial to delivering a model that engages with homeowners who require technical and retrofit process guidance, there also needs to be a clear demonstration of value to the homeowner. The scheme should provide “A model that enables a central party to educate homeowners and listens to their needs is valuable.” Knowledge and social networks can play an important role in shaping the ways in which energy-related renovations are carried out, or not. Interventions can raise homeowners’ awareness of their energy use and enable them to be more informed consumers. Homeowners being involved in making decisions based on technical input, is the best framing of energy retrofits. Using a values-based approach to understand customer motivations is an effective way to overcome intervention barriers. The scheme must enable a customer journey that removes the current ‘hassle factor’ of an energy efficiency home retrofit. “The process of a retrofit is currently very hard to navigate, there is nobody available to guide the homeowner through the process. We need to be able to provide a specification to the homeowner and then how they go ahead with the retrofit, at least.”
4.5.5 Recommendations: • • • •
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A successful scheme will need to have clear and demonstrable goals and target market that have been adapted from other programs learnings The scheme should aim toward achieving improved thermal comfort and energy efficiency with a path toward electrification The scheme should aim to improve the NatHERs rating of the home Whole of home assessment will be critical and will require independent trained assessors doing walk through assessments and/or high-quality desk-top assessment processes Good oversight in the form of home audits, advice to homeowners, in customer care and quality assurance of workmanship, to build trust in the program Develop a list of retrofits that prioritise the most impactful retrofits and can be adapted to the requirements of individual homes and homeowners Develop a robust auditing process for ensuring quality of retrofits and estimating and measuring their impacts For owners to have confidence in the scheme it will be important that quality and performance are promoted, developed, maintained, and recognised over time. The scheme must use industry trained and accredited installers and assessors only – support for industry training and accreditation programs will be required Use of government or industry certified materials and equipment only The scheme and its providers must provide a streamlined process that builds trust and delivers guidance, value, and benefits to the homeowner
Barriers, Opportunities and Market Setting Requirements “Energy efficiency isn’t sexy”.
4.6.1 What We Learnt from International Examples PAGE 60
Pathways to Scale: Retrofitting One Million+ Homes
