The Whole House Retrofit project, funded by BEIS (the Department for Business, Energy, & Industrial Strategy), is focused on reducing the cost of delivery for whole-house deep retrofits.

As a partner to the BEIS investigatory project, Nottingham City Homes have introduced a new methodology, called Destination Zero, which was piloted in the Mapperley & Bakersfield area of the city using amongst other measures Soltherm Brick-ID.
Destination Zero aims to create a standard or blueprint that delivered close-to-zero-carbon buildings in line with the Government’s 2050 carbon target.

The types of measures used across the project were Soltherm external wall insulation (ETICS), underfloor insulation, solar panels, battery storage, new heating systems, and some roof replacements.

The DZ1 scheme pilot comprised 22 exemplar properties.

As highlighted above, the over-arching objective of the DZ1 pilot was to illustrate what could be achieved when adopting deep whole-house, fabric first retrofit principles on some of the countries poorest performing housing stock. However, to ensure the blueprint that this pioneering research project created was futureproofed and delivered the quality standards expected in modern-day retrofit, the scheme was delivered in full compliance to PAS 2035 and was one of the first in the UK to do so.

Specified for the project was the Soltherm Deco W Brick-ID (ETICS), Deco X Mosaic (below DPC) & Ultimate Silicone).

The systems were used on hard-to-treat solid wall properties and mostly achieved a near passiv standard 0.18W/mK. The energy rating of the properties improved from band rating F to band rating C from the install of the ETICS alone (excluding other measures).

This Soltherm Deco W Brick-ID system was selected due to its;

• A2 fire rating
• Category I impact resistance
• Vast choice of colours and brick types (acrylic brick)
• Efficiency-led design, allowing thicker than usual mineral fibre to be installed in a retrofit environment.

This Soltherm Ultimate Silicone system was selected due to its;

• A2 fire rating
• Category I impact resistance
• Vast choice of colours 300+
• Efficiency-led design, allowing thicker than usual mineral fibre to be installed in a retrofit environment.

This Soltherm Deco X Mosaic system was selected due to its;

• Category I impact resistance
• Vast choice of colours
• High water resistance, durability and its ability to be used below DPC.

In combination, the Soltherm systems not only provided exceptional efficiency but also an exceptional range of premium quality finishes.

The exemplar DZ1 project sets the standard for Deep Whole House Retrofit and has been showcased at energy seminars up and down the country including COP 26. Soltherm systems provided best in class which were at the fabric core of this model upgrade.