SuperHomes

We share retrofit knowledge and best practice

About SuperHomes

SuperHomes is a rapidly expanding community of energy aware households who are taking great steps towards reducing their own, and the planet’s, carbon footprint.

SuperHomes was initially set up in 2007 by the SEA (Sustainable Energy Academy). The aim was to spread awareness of how household CO2 emissions could be reduced by at least 60%, even in hard-to-treat homes, and to inspire other homeowners to act. In recognition of its work on SuperHomes, the Academy won an Ashden Award in 2009 and a Sustainable Energy Europe Award in 2014. In 2014 SEA merged with the National Energy Foundation (NEF), helping to ensure that SuperHomes continued to grow and thrive.

Recently, there have been some changes at SuperHomes in order access the wider housing market, making retrofit and sustainable living as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes dissolving the previous network membership and replacing it with free access to the SuperHomes Community.

Our mission is to create a space that inspire others to begin their retrofit journey. To achieve this mission, we will work with our partners and residents to inform and encourage best practice retrofit. Together we can reduce energy bills and carbon footprints, whilst elevating comfortability and peace of mind.

About SuperHomes

We’ve been inspiring change and promoting green living since 2007 But not alone:

We are proud to be working with the following partners and sponsors whose generous support has helped the SuperHomes network grow.

Sustainable Development Foundation

Sustainable Development Foundation

The Sustainable Development Foundation aims to drive the property and construction industry towards exemplary sustainability practices.

MCS Charitable Foundation

MCS Charitable Foundation

MCS Charitable Foundation is an independent UK-wide charity whose mission is to accelerate the widespread adoption of renewable energy and low carbon technologies.

Good Homes Alliance

The Good Homes Alliance promote and encourage the building of quality sustainable homes and communities and to transform the whole of mainstream UK house building into a sustainable endeavour.

Innovate UK

Innovate UK

Innovate UK helps businesses develop the new products, services and processes they need to grow through innovation.

The SuperHome Team:

Reuben Whyatt

Reuben Joined the National Energy foundation in July 2023 to work as a Project Officer for SuperHomes. He has a BA Honors Degree in Human Geography and Environment from the University of York. He then completed his MSc in Sustainable Cities from the University of Leeds specialising in energy usage within urban informal settlements. His role at SuperHomes involves assisting the team on many of the interesting projects we have going on.

Reuben enjoys working on the SuperHomes project as it tackles subjects he is extremely passionate about such as improving the UK’s housing stock and increasing the uptake of renewable household energy systems. Both of which will go a long way in tackling many our countries environmental, social and economic challenges.

Elissa Knowles

Elissa joined the National Energy Foundation and SuperHomes Team in 2023 as a Project Officer, around the same time that she graduated from the University of York with a BSc in Psychology. It was whilst reading this degree that she found a love for Environmental Psychology, studying modules such as Moral and Political psychology and Behavioural Change. Elissa was keen to find a job in the environmental sector that made a real difference within the community, which is when she stumbled across the world of retrofit.

Elissa now looks after both the overall SuperHomes Community and the Three Rivers project, which is incredibly diverse and rewarding. With the 2050 Net Zero goal in mind, Elissa is grateful to be part of such worthwhile projects and looks forward to seeing a major shift in the way we care for our planet.

Becky Taylor

Becky joined The National Energy Foundation in July 2023 as a Project Officer. She has a BSc from the University of Bath in Natural Sciences (Physics major, Chemistry minor) with a year in industry, where she worked in a Natural Hazards and Environment Team, conducting statistical analysis on weather and climate data and writing reports on potential future natural hazards. Becky is passionate about finding solutions to mitigate climate change. She conducted her final year university project on using piezoelectric materials to harvest energy from everyday objects.

Becky is currently working for the SuperHomes Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire project, where her work is varied and rewarding. She enjoys working for a team that is striving to improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock, which she believes is critical to achieving Net Zero Emissions in the UK.

Bill Wright

Bill is our Technical Lead, and joined us in 2022 as one of our Retrofit Consultants.  He conducts home surveys, producing reports to recommend suitable cost-effective energy efficiency measures for your home, to reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint.

He has a background in social housing, and energy research, having worked as a Sustainability Consultant for a housing sustainability practice for 8 years. He has a BSc in Environmental Science from Kingston University, and an MSc in Renewable Energy from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT).

He particularly enjoys the variety of homes he visits, from 400-year-old farmhouses to modern homes, whether large or small, urban or rural, on or off-gas, and the challenges of making these more energy efficient and carbon neutral.

Paul Ciniglio

Paul is our Head of Whole Home Retrofit and spends much of his time working on our SuperHomes programme which focuses on the private homeowner sector. He leads the team working on grant-funded retrofit projects, and research initiatives and providing tailored advice to customers. Paul co-created the SuperHomes Rating Scheme for the evaluation of retrofit performance. He lives in his own SuperHome which he retrofitted in 2009 and to which he has since welcomed over 500 visitors inspiring many to go on and take action to retrofit their own homes. He has led multiple retrofit projects several of which received recognition through winning high-profile national awards.

Paul has over 35 years of experience working in the built environment sector, two decades of which were spent in affordable housing. Originally graduating as a Building Surveyor, he went on to study a Masters in Sustainable Development and is a Chartered Environmentalist. He joined NEF in 2020 having previously supported the NEF team as a consultant.

Sally Hodgkinson

Sally joined The National Energy Foundation in August 2021 to work on the charity’s SuperHomes projects. Before joining NEF, Sally completed a BA Hons in Geography from Newcastle University in 2020 and briefly worked as a Legal Market Researcher. Sally works as a Project Manager in the SuperHomes team and it is her job to ensure that all the SuperHomes projects are being delivered on time and are on track with their targets. Sally works across the team and supports the Head of Whole Home Retrofit, the Retrofit Coordinators, and Project Officers to enable effective delivery and positive results.

Sally finds working on the SuperHomes projects rewarding and worthwhile, particularly as they engage with local communities and stakeholders, and aim to address the UK’s retrofit challenge and the need for the country to decarbonise its housing stock.

Our SuperHomes Resident Pioneers

Given that SuperHomes has been running since 2007, we have our very own SuperHomes Pioneers. These are residents who have refurbished their homes to the highest standards of energy efficiency (with sustainable and low energy measures), meaning less reliance on fossil fuels. We know that many households can benefit from these experiences and be inspired to make changes to help shape a green future.

Should you wish to get in contact with one of our trusted Pioneers and learn from their expertise, please use the contact form to let us know, and we’ll work to get you in contact with someone geographically suited to you. Please also check out the community page for more information.

Measure the success of your retrofit with the SuperHomes Rating Scheme

For those who decide to take on and complete the retrofitting of their home, whether it’s via our Plans or not, our SuperHomes Rating Scheme (SRS) will be readily available to see just how efficiently their newly retrofitted home is performing!

The SuperHomes Rating Scheme provides a comparable benchmark of home retrofit accomplishment with a top rating representing the pinnacle of SuperHomes performance producing zero emissions and optimum comfort conditions. Please see our ‘SuperHomes Rating Scheme’ page for more information if this sounds of interest to you.

SuperHome Events:

Our online events are an opportunity to learn more about home retrofit and develop your understanding of what’s available. To stay up to date with the latest event announcements, sign up for the SuperHomes Newsletter.

Please see below our events and click to book a place:

Frequently
Asked Questions

SuperHomes is a project run by the National Energy Foundation. It’s a membership network from this interested in home retrofit that also facilitates the completion of a Whole House Plan, an essential first step in home retrofit. The SuperHomes Rating Scheme is a system that allows those who have completed retrofit to evaluate their work and look at the true performance of their home.

If you’re interested in making your home more energy efficient and starting to produce your own energy, our network is for you.  To access our in-house Retrofit Coordinators who can complete your Whole House Plan, attend our events and access our networking platforms you will need to be a member of the SuperHomes Network.

SuperHomes has a team of in-house Retrofit Coordinators who can complete a Whole House Plan for you. Find out more here or join the network to book your Whole House Assessment. 

Yes. Our Rating Scheme is built for those who are just starting out on their retrofit journey or who have already completed work. Find out more here.

The first steps towards eco refurbishment are some of the toughest…

We can make it easier.

The first steps towards eco refurbishment are some of the toughest…

We can make it easier.