New retrofit courses in Harrogate will help improve energy efficiency of homes

The courses aim to provide builders with an awareness of retrofit building practices and help tackle around 67,000 homes in the district which require retrofitting, to make them more energy efficient and reduce their impact on CO2 levels by 2030. The course aims to educate attendees on: identifying building structures and construction methods; the relevance of Retrofit to carbon reduction and reducing bills over time; the whole house approach; airtightness of buildings; thermal bridging and thermal bypass; types of insulation materials; selection of measures for retrofit; and sustainability considerations.

The courses are the start of the Retrofit Programme that Zero Carbon Harrogate has planned. Training will soon be announced for assessors and coordinators, who will be able to advise homeowners in the Harrogate District what work can be carried out on their homes to make them more efficient and reduce their 
carbon footprint.

Course funding has been made possible through the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme from the Energy Saving Trust after a successful bid from Zero Carbon Harrogate earlier this year.

John Kerr, from Zero Carbon Harrogate, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer funding for these courses to builders in the Harrogate district, with our partners Harrogate College, and hope it will help them expand their services for the growing demand from homeowners who wish to make their homes more energy efficient, warmer and cheaper to run whilst tackling climate change. This is just the start though, we have more courses coming soon that specifically look at technology, such as air source heat pumps and the training of Assessors and Coordinators which will really help home owners understand what work needs to be done to their homes and how to achieve it.”

Holly Hansen Maughan, Partnership and Development Manager at the college, added: “We are absolutely delighted to be offering these courses which is part of our greater commitment for providing training for sustainable and environmentally aware building.”

The free places are limited. Interested applicants can contact John Kerr on 07927 145712 or email [email protected]. Bookings can also be made at: harrogate-college.ac.uk.