Jackie Owino is a postgraduate student in the University of Salford studying MSc. Safety, Health and Environment Management.  She is passionate about environmental sustainability, and is seeking owner-occupiers of houses in Manchester to respond to a survey (you can take it here) about retrofit and energy.

Here’s the blurb she sent-

Greenhouse gas emissions from our activities is driving climate change and the world’s average surface temperatures is projected to rise above 3^oC this century.

The UK government has set out targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 from a 1990 baseline. In 2016, 14% of the UK GHG emissions were from residential homes, a 4% increase from 2015. The Committee on climate change reports that these emissions are expected to fall by about 20% between 2016 and 2030 in order to achieve near zero emissions by 2050.

Several improvements and policy packages have been suggested to improve the built fabric of the building through retrofit by loft and wall insulation to more efficient boilers and heating systems and use of renewable energy sources. There is however need to understand how behavioural factors and energy practices relate to their built environment.

The focus of my study is to understand these factors and barriers that limit the uptake of retrofit by owner occupiers in Greater Manchester.

The outcome of the study will essentially identify what factors should be taken into consideration by Greater Manchester Council and key stakeholders such as the carbon co-op when creating programs and policy instruments  incentivize and create awareness on the uptake of retrofit measures.

Any feedback from owner occupiers within Greater Manchester will be highly appreciated. The link to the survey:

https://salford.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/barriers_limit_retrofit