Salford to host Greater Manchester Retrofit Summit & Expo

A major retrofit summit and expo is coming to the University of Salford next month.

Designed for housing and retrofit professionals, community organisations and volunteers, the Greater Manchester’s Retrofit Summit & Expo, part of Retrofit Action Week (RAW) Greater Manchester (08-16 Nov) is a free-to-attend event offering a unique opportunity to get the latest retrofit information and solutions in one place.

Taking place at the New Adelphi building on Thursday November 13, attendees will discover the newest products and innovations at the expo, connect with experts, and gain valuable insights into place-based retrofit through expert panels and presentations from Benx, Groundwork, Next Energy and Domna.

There will also be the chance for an exclusive look at our state-of-the-art research facilities, the Energy House Labs –  Energy House 1 which contains a 1950’s style terraced house and Energy House 2.0 with two fully functional modern detached houses, built by Barratt and Bellway.

Both are used to test both building material and heating products.

The summit will also feature four sessions with compelling case studies and insightful panel debates with those who are actively shaping the future of better homes.

The event will kick off with a keynote session from Professor Will Swan, Director of Energy House Labs, setting the stage for a day of groundbreaking ideas and innovative solutions.

Prof Swan, said: “We are excited to be hosting this key retrofit event at the University of Salford over the week of action. Energy House Labs has done leading research in this area, but we know that to drive the change in retrofit, the UK needs to make its homes warm and energy efficient. Engaging with installer, product manufacturers, designers, and asset owners is essential. The Summit & Expo gives us all an opportunity to talk, share and learn from each other.”

Energy House 2.0 opened in 2023 at the University of Salford and was made to experiment on how to prepare homes for future weather conditions and identify ways that homeowners could be made more comfortable during hot weather. Currently used for new build homes, over the next few years the focus will shift to retrofit. Energy House Labs recently won a large grant from United Infrastructure to build older style housing to test retrofit products.

The UK has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe, with 65% of homes built before 1990. 80% of the UK homes we will inhabit in 2050 are already standing, and the houses in our current facility represent only 21% of UK housing stock. By building two more houses, the team will be able to more than double the scope of our research through innovation and testing on houses that will represent nearly half of our housing stock.

Sessions at the Summit include: ‘Better Homes: Healthier, Happier Residents with Domna’, ‘Empowered Communities: Supporting Local Action with Groundwork’, ‘Local & Combined Authorities: Scaling Up Local Retrofit with Benx’, and finally ‘City and Regional Retrofit Strategy: The Role of Devolution with Next Energy’.

“Bringing our Manchester event to the University this year is a fitting testimony of the progress made across the region since our first event in the city back in 2019, at which Prof. Will Swan also spoke.  Attendees can look forward to an amazing array of speakers, exhibitors and insights which will inspire retrofit scale-up across Greater Manchester and beyond. It’s going to be an unmissable end-of-year gathering.” Graham Lock, Low Carbon Homes, event organiser

Sign up for the event here: https://bit.ly/GMretrofit25