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Whole-house retrofit — improving everything at once — produces the best results technically. But it requires significant resources: money, time, and somewhere else to live for weeks or months (it has taken some people years!). For most people, a gradual room-by-room approach is more realistic.

If you are considering whole-house retrofit

• Get a full Retrofit Assessment (PAS 2035) before committing to anything. although NEP will get you started on the journey - see this NEP page - https://www.homeenergyadviceteamhub.uk/what-we-offer

• Be realistic about disruption: a thorough retrofit of a Victorian terrace is a major building project. "We had to move out completely and ended up living somewhere else for more than 2 years."

▲  Full payback of retrofit costs is unlikely for most older properties at current energy prices. The case rests on a combination of comfort, lower bills, reduced carbon and — where relevant — property value. Go in with realistic expectations
▲  Be cautious of contractors who offer to manage everything as a package — get independent advice on what your home actually needs before approaching installers.

If you are doing it gradually

• Think about the sequence in advance — some measures make others harder if done in the wrong order

• Loft insulation first: cheap, effective, and independent of whatever else you do

• Then tackle rooms as you renovate them, starting with the coldest or most used

• Be aware of thermal bridges — the points where insulation in one room or area meets an uninsulated adjacent surface. These junctions can become cold spots where condensation forms, potentially leading to damp, mould or rot. The more incrementally work is done, the more of these junctions exist. A qualified installer should detail them carefully; it is worth asking specifically how each edge will be handled.

• Keep heating system decisions until the fabric is substantially improved

 Use Renovation as Your Trigger

Most people improve their homes gradually — a kitchen here, a bathroom there, redecorating rooms over time. This is entirely sensible. But renovation creates opportunities for energy improvement that, if not taken, are much harder and more expensive to take later.

"We'd already replaced the kitchen and bathroom before it occurred to us to think about internal wall insulation and floor insulation. By then the disruption and cost of retro-fitting it was too much to contemplate."

The lesson is simple: before you redecorate or renovate a room, ask yourself whether there is energy improvement work that would be much easier to do now than later. Floors being lifted for re-plumbing, walls being re-plastered, ceilings being opened — these are the moments to act.

1. Lifting floors or replacing carpets: the time to insulate underneath. "Mind you, there's a lot to be said for a nice extra-thick layer of underlay."

2. Re-plastering or re-decorating walls: the time to consider internal wall insulation

3. Replacing a kitchen or bathroom: the time to address floor and wall insulation behind fittings

4. Re-roofing: the time to review loft insulation and consider solar panels (even if only for future installation).

5. Replacing windows: the time to consider draught-proofing the whole room

 Victorian and Edwardian Terraces and Semis

These make up a large proportion of Lady Bay's housing stock and share common characteristics: solid brick walls, suspended timber ground floors (often with cellars), sash or early casement windows, and relatively small room sizes. hey also tend to have valued architectural features such as bay windows and decoratively tiled flooring.

Suggested sequence

1. Loft insulation — if not already done or if existing insulation is thin. Low disruption, cost-effective, do it first

2. Draught-proofing — chimneys (fit a cap or balloon if not in use), floorboards, window frames, letterbox. Low cost, can be done room by room

3. Floor insulation — tackle ground floor rooms as floors are exposed for other work. Cellars, where they exist, make it easier to access the ground floor.

4. Windows — consider draught-proofing and repair of existing sash windows before replacement. Secondary glazing is worth considering where the original windows are sound. Companies do exist that can double-glaze sash windows.

5. Wall insulation — Internally is most practical when rooms are being re-plastered or significantly redecorated. Accept some loss of room size. Externally where permitted - see below.

6. Heating system — only once fabric work is substantially complete. At that point, assess whether a heat pump is viable given the remaining heat loss

7. Solar PV — can be done at any stage but most valuable once energy demand is reduced and ideally once a heat pump or battery is in place.. "And provided your neighbour hasn't installed a loft extension which takes too much of your sunlight."

▲  External wall insulation changes the appearance of the property and is expensive. Historically this has ruled it out for most residential Victorian terraces although Lady Bay has seen some recent cases of it being done.  Also many houses in Lady Bay share a wall with their neighbour’s boundary, which might preclude installation on that side, as it would overlap their neighbour’s land.
▲  Ensure sufficient ventilation is still in place after insulating floors or walls and replacing windows

Inter-War Semis and Detached Houses

Homes built between the wars may have cavity walls, although Lady Bay might be an exception to that.  They offer a significant advantage over Victorian solid-wall construction. Such houses also tend to have larger rooms, more roof space and aesthetic features such as stained glass windows.

Suggested sequence

1. Loft insulation — as above, the first priority

2. Wall insulation —Cavity wall insulation is an obvious choice if the walls are suitable and have not already been filled. Get a proper survey first; not all cavities are appropriate. External insulation might be viewed as more aesthetically acceptable for this era of housing but some of the problems raised above still apply, as does the advice re internal wall insulation

3. Floor insulation — ground floors may be suspended timber or solid concrete. Suspended timber can be insulated, see above notes; solid concrete is a bigger job

4. Windows and doors — double glazing is more straightforward to retrofit in inter-war properties than in older ones. Existing stained glass can be 'encapsulated', although this costs extra and may be less effective

5. Draught-proofing — less critical once cavity walls are filled and windows replaced, but still worthwhile

6. Heating system — with cavity walls and loft insulation done, a heat pump becomes more viable than in an unimproved Victorian terrace

7. Solar PV and battery — as above

▲  Cavity wall insulation surveys matter — exposed or damp walls, narrow cavities or previous partial fills can all cause problems if not identified firs
▲  Ensure sufficient ventilation is still in place after insulating floors or walls and replacing windows

⚑ Expert review: Expert reviewers to confirm the cavity wall survey advice and whether there are specific issues with inter-war properties in Lady Bay.

 Behaviour: The Free Measures

Not everything requires investment. How you use your home matters — and some of the most effective responses to both energy costs and changing weather cost nothing at all.

• Heat rooms in sequence rather than the whole house: warm the living room in the evening, bedrooms before bed

• Thermostatic radiator valves on individual radiators allow room-by-room control — inexpensive if not already fitted

• In summer: open windows on cooler evenings and nights; close them and draw blinds or curtains on the sunny side during the day

• Adjust as the sun moves through the day — a room that needs shading in the morning may not in the afternoon

• A well-programmed heating timer reduces consumption without reducing comfort

Climate Resilience

The measures described on this site help with future climate conditions as well as current energy costs. A well-insulated home stays warmer in cold weather and cooler in hot weather. Reducing dependence on gas reduces exposure to price volatility. Generating your own electricity provides some resilience against supply cost increases.  Note – I wonder if this is significant enough to be worth mentioning here.

Planning energy improvements with a long-term view — thinking about the home you will have in 20 years, not just this winter — is a reasonable approach for anyone intending to stay.

 Where to Start

If you are not sure where to begin and/or don’t have deep pockets, the answer is almost certainly: get an assessment of your home first, then tackle loft insulation if it is not already adequate, then use renovation as your trigger for everything else.

The NEP assessment is a good place to start. Register for your plan by visiting www.HomeEnergyAdviceTeamHub.uk or call 0115 985 3000