Systemic barriers are stopping disabled people from benefitting from retrofit

We conducted research with disabled people, caregivers and retrofit professionals, using interviews and workshops to understand experiences across the entire retrofit customer journey. What we found reveals systemic barriers that prevent disabled households from benefiting from retrofit – and points to practical solutions that would improve the process for everyone.

Poor accessibility of information and advice emerged as a particular barrier for disabled households. Inaccessible websites, information not provided in accessible formats, lack of tailored advice which speaks to their specific health needs, technical jargon and information overload all combined to exclude people from even starting the home retrofit process.

“Many disabled people have fundamental needs around energy – for instance, constant access to electricity, being at home throughout the day or needing to avoid particular types of disruptions”

For those able to navigate initial information barriers, other obstacles appeared. The prohibitive cost of retrofit for those unable to access grants was significant. Meanwhile, for those who were eligible for financial support, the complexity of government schemes and the bureaucratic burden of filling out forms created additional hurdles.

Trust was another critical issue. Disabled households described challenges finding trustworthy retrofit installers. Some had been approached and harangued by installers with endless offers. Stories in local and national media of retrofit-related issues, such as those relating to poor installations of solid wall insulation, meant that overall trust in installers was quite low even before work began.

The inherent disruption of home retrofit, combined with poor communication from tradespeople, made the actual retrofit process incredibly stressful for disabled households. But it wasn’t just poor communication – contractors often didn’t consider disabled people’s needs at all.

Many disabled people have fundamental needs around energy – for instance, constant access to electricity, being at home throughout the day or needing to avoid particular types of disruptions. When contractors failed to take these fundamental needs into account, it could leave people in difficult situations, such as being without electricity or water overnight.

In large-scale delivery schemes, where entire blocks of social housing might undergo retrofit, lack of flexibility to shape delivery around individual household needs was particularly problematic.

This could lead to measures being installed which weren’t consistent with the household’s requirements. Heat pumps were repeatedly mentioned in this context, which might work well for some households, but proved inappropriate for disabled people with higher warmth needs or different heating patterns.

Post-installation support around heating systems was generally found to be very poor. If information was provided, it wasn’t shaped to meet the household’s needs and was rarely in an accessible format. Poor communication, combined with the lack of a single, consistent contact and appropriate follow-up support, eroded trust in installers and tradespeople.

The retrofit process needs to be much more customer-centred. This will benefit all households and ensure retrofit meets people’s needs and fulfils its promise of environmental, health and social benefits.

“It’s critical that large-scale schemes give consideration to the needs of disabled households at all stages of the process”

The government needs to ensure disability awareness is fully integrated within retrofit training programmes and supplemented with disability-specific awareness resources. Accessibility plans should be standard in the retrofit process, developed and adopted from the start of projects, with detail on the communication, accessibility and individual circumstances of the household. 

This should not be solely the responsibility of installers or charitable organisations – stronger regulations and standards would help to ensure consistency across the sector, reducing uncertainty and risk for disabled people.

Independent energy advice provision is also crucial, with advisors who can provide detailed and nuanced advice to households and support them to access grant funding. This may require support and funding for energy advice organisations, to ensure their advisors can access training on disability and retrofit.

For housing providers, it’s critical that large-scale schemes give consideration to the needs of disabled households at all stages of the process. When heat pump installations are being planned for social housing, especially through mass retrofit programmes, consideration must be given to the needs of each disabled household and how easy or difficult it will be for them to adapt to new technologies and heating approaches.

This is especially important for households with above average warmth needs. Standardised installations without proper consideration run the risk of households living with inappropriate technologies.

Inclusive retrofit isn’t just about fairness – it’s about improving quality and trust across the sector. By meeting the needs of disabled households, we create better standards and practices that benefit everyone. That’s how we ensure no one is left behind in the energy transition.

Full details of the research can be found here.

Harriet Sansom, head of the Community Action on Energy programme, and Emily Cox, head of research and evaluation, Centre for Sustainable Energy