Andy Sutton is co-founder and chief innovation officer at Sero
2026: Time to get on the proper boat
I imagine 2026 is shaping as much as be a pivotal yr for the UK’s journey to Web Zero. Proper now, the vitality and development sectors are transferring on completely different trajectories, and until we carry them collectively, we danger dropping impression.
The vitality sector is already out at sea, accelerating towards electrification and renewables. Tasks like EQUINOX present warmth pumps can ship dependable flexibility. Environmental Levy modifications help electrification, and reforms like “P415” unlock the potential that resident-level applied sciences similar to batteries have promised. Even with the ECO scheme ending, retail vitality firms will play a big position in bettering the UK’s 30 million houses.
In the meantime, the retrofit and development sector stays nearer to shore, dealing with long-standing challenges round time, value, and high quality. Whereas there are various constructive exceptions, the market ranges from main contractors charging important charges, to an unregulated panorama with little high quality management. Stakeholders more and more body retrofit as an answer for biodiversity, social isolation, well being, embodied carbon, and placemaking, legitimate targets, however laborious to quantify and reliant on long-term information.
The danger? In 2026, the vitality boat sails on whereas development lingers on the water’s edge. If we board solely the vitality vessel, we’ll electrify houses at scale and decarbonise because the grid shifts, however with out addressing cloth, air flow and high quality, households could face greater payments and poor consolation. If we keep rooted on the development shore, we’ll fail to scale in any respect.
Many years of makes an attempt show that remaining on the shore can’t ship scale.
What must come aboard?
To succeed, we should carry the necessities from retrofit onto the energy-led journey, sufficient to attain significant outcomes with out overloading the boat. These necessities are:
- High quality requirements that end in secure, dependable installations that carry out as supposed.
- An affordability focus – retrofit should stay accessible to households.
- Enhance well being outcomes with houses that stop damp, enhance air flow, and help wellbeing.
- Safe the demand discount fundamentals, insulation and airtightness to enhance electrification.
These are non-negotiables. We could not persistently ship each ambition, similar to embodied carbon or community-owned supply, however defining retrofit as creating houses which might be decarbonised, reasonably priced, and wholesome is much better than being left behind.
2026: Cease debating, begin delivering!
That is the yr to maneuver past definitions and begin delivering at scale. With progressive expertise, data-driven selections, and collaboration throughout sectors, we are able to create houses that work for individuals and the planet.
