Metis Develops Scalable Low-Carbon Retrofit Model
Tom Woolley states that the UK has experimented with retrofit long enough. With Metis’s model successfully demonstrated in Oxfordshire, the country must now implement fully funded retrofit programs.
Proven Retrofit Success in Oxfordshire
For years, local authorities and policymakers have sought innovation to unlock home retrofit. According to Tom Woolley, SMS Products & Strategy Director, the innovation phase is complete. Partnering with Oxfordshire County Council, Metis has shown that large-scale low-carbon retrofit works across technical, financial, and social dimensions.
From Pilots to Widespread Delivery
The current challenge is moving from pilot projects to full adoption. Woolley emphasizes the need to make retrofit as simple and scalable as a mobile phone subscription.
Existing Technologies Ready for Deployment
Technologies such as solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps have proven their effectiveness for decades, with costs rapidly declining. What has been missing is a delivery model that ensures accessibility, affordability, and trust for ordinary households.
Addressing Process Over Technology
Many pilots have concentrated on testing individual technologies instead of refining the process for home installation. This has caused progress to slow, risking the UK missing essential Net Zero targets unless innovation translates into broad deployment.
Barriers Faced by Local Authorities and Households
- Limited funding
- Fragmented supply chains
- Complex procurement
Government decarbonisation funds cannot cover the entire cost of retrofit, while private finance is often deterred by uncertainty.
"The challenge now is adoption. This is the moment to move from pilots to delivery and make retrofit as simple and scalable as a mobile phone subscription."
Author’s summary: Metis’s breakthrough retrofit model proves large-scale low-carbon home upgrades are viable, pressing the UK to shift from trials to fully funded, accessible deployment.