By Jeff Blaylock,

Head of UK Client Delivery at Deepki

“Neither we in London nor towns and cities across the country have enough skilled workers to deliver the retrofit revolution.”

This was the assessment of London Mayor Sadiq Kahn^[1], who acknowledges the independent Green Jobs Taskforce estimation that the UK needs an increase of 230,000 trained workers by 2030 to retrofit every building in the country^[2].

Yet finding those workers with the requisite skills is essential if the UK government is to meet its ambition of retrofitting all homes to EPC band C standard by 2035.

Currently, just 29% of homes meet this standard, and according to the Green Alliance, “the UK’s current policy approach is nowhere near ambitious enough to tackle the remaining 71%. In fact, energy efficiency improvements have stalled, measures are expensive, industry is underinvesting and householders still find retrofits a major hassle.”

And not only is the sheer volume of buildings immense but the UK has one of the oldest and leakiest housing stocks in western Europe, making it even more challenging for the nation to meet its net zero targets.

Significant complexities

There are considerable complexities involved with retrofitting. Every asset presents a unique set of issues with significant differences between the use of equipment and services in each building.

No wonder then that more than half (53%) of respondents to a Deepki-commissioned survey of director level and C-suite individuals involved in managing the commercial real estate portfolio or the running of a commercial real estate investment fund/portfolio across Europe, say there is a shortage of people in their sector with retrofitting skills.

There are efforts by firms to attempt to close the skills gap in-house by hiring new staff or upskilling existing employees. More than three-quarters (77%) of the UK respondents surveyed by Deepki say they will take this route to ensure the net zero challenge facing its commercial real estate portfolio is met.

However, given the scale of that challenge, many real estate firms are turning to specialist external support.

UK commercial real estate managers say on average just 35% of retrofitting activity is undertaken in house, while 80% of respondents say they outsource to companies that provide retrofitting services. Seventy-one per cent of UK real estate professionals expect outsourcing to increase in the next three years.

Getting the data

There are numerous activities which real estate managers can outsource to third parties, but if firms want to achieve retrofitting success, the first step is to understand what is needed – and when – across their entire portfolio.

This relies on reliable, timely data which will inform what you have, what needs to be replaced and what can be repurposed.

The more complex the building and its heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, the more important it is to commission individuals and companies, such as facility managers, building management and automated control system integrators, engineering firms and equipment suppliers to ensure proper performance.

But, as noted, commercial real estate portfolios can be large and complex and collating the requisite information takes time and resources. Ideally, companies should spend no more than 20% of their time gathering data, so they can spend the rest of their time taking action and measuring impact.

Advanced solutions

PropTech companies and software as a service (SaaS) providers, such as Deepki, are offering ever more innovative, scalable solutions that liberate property managers from data gathering demands.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are proving central in supporting asset owners as they formulate their retrofitting plans.

The use of AI applications can help enhance the sustainability and efficiency of retrofit projects by enabling data-driven decision-making, which optimises building performance, and reduces energy consumption.

For example, even the most sophisticated heat pump can consume just as much as the older, inefficient equipment it replaced if it is not used correctly. PropTech – informed by AI and machine learning – can compare energy consumption before and after retrofits, as well as theoretical and true consumption, simulating the impact of retrofitting actions and designing and implementing carbon pathways.

The retrofit skills gap looks alarmingly large at present, but it can be filled. A combination of investment in people and in PropTech, will help commercial real estate managers ensure their buildings not only meet environmental regulations but offer greener, cleaner places for people to live, while ultimately securing the value of the assets in question.