Comment 11 COMMENT


Nurturing the roots of innovation


After attending our decarbonisation round table and witnessing the ingenuity of SMEs in this space, Alison Skillen at RISE explains why they need wider support and promotion in the sector.


I


n October 2025 I attended the Building Insights LIVE round table discussion on decarbonising social housing, and it leſt me with a renewed sense of what’s possible in this sector. What struck me most was that this


wasn’t another debate about policy frameworks or funding gaps (as important as those are) but rather the sheer ingenuity of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in this space. T ese companies are developing some genuinely clever solutions, yet many are struggling to get their innovations in front of the people who need them most. I wanted to share what I learned, because I think there are some real lessons here for all of us trying to make retrofi t work at scale.


THE SME PARADOX Here’s the thing about SMEs in the retrofi t sector: they’re oſt en the ones pushing boundaries of new retrofi t technologies with a range of innovations including thermal imaging, AI-driven diagnostics, thermal batteries, shower heat recovery systems, and advanced monitoring technologies. T ey’re nimble, they’re innovative, and they’re not weighed down by legacy systems. But – and this is a signifi cant but – many of them simply don’t understand how to navigate the complex world of social housing delivery. T e procurement landscape for local authorities is oſt en complex. Multiple


frameworks, lengthy tender processes, and compliance requirements; for a small company with limited resources, trying to pitch directly to a local authority can feel impossibly diffi cult. T e preferred route for some, it turns out, is to position themselves as part of a larger delivery solution, working alongside Tier 1 or Tier 2 contractors who already have those relationships and understand the procurement dance. But here’s the catch: you need to know this is how the market works. Far


too many SMEs don’t. T is is where a service like RISE (Retrofi t information, support & expertise) comes in – helping SME suppliers to understand the full retrofi t landscape, and supporting them as they take steps, either towards procurement directly with the social housing providers, or towards engagement with the larger, established contractors. It was reassuring to hear at the round table that this focus on breaking down the procurement barriers for SME suppliers is exactly what the sector is looking for.


THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAIL – OR RATHER, THE EPC POINTS One of the most enlightening discussions centred on shower heat recovery systems. Now, I’ll admit, when I fi rst heard about these, I thought “nice idea, but does it really make a meaningful diff erence?” Turns out, I was asking the wrong question. T ese systems can add two to three EPC points to a property. T at might


not sound signifi cant, but consider this: homes oſt en sit frustratingly close to the threshold of the next EPC band. A property might be languishing at the top end of a band, and those two or three points become incredibly valuable. T ey could be the diff erence between meeting scheme eligibility criteria or missing out entirely.


Many SMEs simply don’t understand how to navigate the complex world of delivery


But there’s something even more signifi cant at play here. We know that


the real decarbonisation gains come from tackling space heating and hot water, far more than from upgrading to energy-effi cient appliances. Hot water decarbonisation is particularly tricky – it’s one of those challenges that doesn’t have obvious, easy answers. So when you fi nd a product that genuinely makes an impact in this area, it matters. It’s not just valuable from an EPC perspective; it’s valuable because it delivers measurable decarbonisation where we actually need it.


WHEN INNOVATION DOESN’T TRANSLATE TO RETROFIT Not every innovative solution is suited to every context, though, and the discussion on underfl oor heating in retrofi t projects proved to be a perfect example of this. In new builds paired with heat pumps, underfl oor heating makes perfect


sense. It’s effi cient, it works beautifully with lower fl ow temperatures, and residents move into homes where it’s already installed.


Housing Management & Maintenance Spring 2026


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52