Project

Retrofit One-Stop Shop York

SEI, based at the University of York, is collaborating with the City of York and a consortium of partners in developing a Retrofit One-Stop Shop York (ROSSY). The project contributes to achieving net zero regional and national targets, aligning with York’s 2030 ambition. ROSSY supports the reduction in carbon emissions associated with York’s domestic sector including the decarbonization of power, heat, and transport sectors.

Photo: Halbergman / Getty Images

Active project

2024–2026

Project contact

Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna / johan.kuylenstierna@sei.org

In 2019, the City of York Council (CYC) set a goal for York to become a net zero carbon and climate resilient city by 2030. While progress has been made, it is not enough to reach the net zero target. According to the York Local Area Energy Plan, reaching net zero requires upgrading 44,000 homes, installing 70,000 heat pumps, and having 24% of households produce electricity from rooftop solar. However, homeowners and consumers are hesitant to adopt retrofit and low-carbon technologies, which are essential for reaching our net zero goals.

Many people find the initial cost for retrofit high and with unattractive, unavailable, or non-accessible financing options to make a purchase. They are put off by the retrofitting process especially the installation issues, space requirements, and the time it takes to see savings. There is little information, guidance or support, to homeowners or consumers on the benefits, costs, and long-term implications of these measures specific to their situation, making it difficult to make informed decisions.

Through the support of Innovate UK, the CYC, University of York, SEI, with partners, kicked off the Retrofit One-Stop Shop York (ROSSY) project to support, promote and encourage retrofitting work to homes across the city, helping residents to save money. Beyond the economic benefits, ROSSY aims to improve health and well-being, and move the city closer to net zero.

The ROSSY project builds on findings from the Accelerating York’s Net Zero Transition project, which identified barriers to consumer acceptance and uptake of retrofit and low carbon technologies. The project works with partners to develop a Retrofit-One-Stop-Shop for York to support York’s Climate Change, Health and Wellbeing and Economic Development strategies.

The main goal of this project is to reduce carbon emissions from York’s domestic sector, with the expectation it will lead to an uptake for retrofitting and low carbon technologies, especially among vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

SEI Centre at the University of York, is collaborating with partners on the ROSSY initiative. SEI is specifically focused on work package 6, which involves project evaluation. SEI task include:

Scale up in York by providing guidance on business models and extend this knowledge to other local authorities to disseminate the lessons learned from York to broader regions.
Monitoring and evaluation of the project will outline its intended outcomes beyond its completion.
Engaging stakeholders to connect with others implementing similar strategies and evaluating suppliers, among other considerations.
Assessing the contribution of retrofits in residential buildings to City of York Council climate and Net Zero targets using the LEAP tool.

SEI will also develop a framework outlining the approaches and roles of key stakeholders, and expand the outcomes of the project to other areas across the region and UK by sharing learnings and best practices.