The new PAS 2035 standard for the retrofit of homes should be rolled out to all government policies and those delivered by the private sector, according to Elmhurst Energy.

From 1 July all projects delivered under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO3) will be adopting the new PAS standards, which mean TrustMark-approved retrofit professionals must be used. Projects delivered under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Phase 2 of the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme also require PAS 2035 professionals.

But energy performance assessment specialist Elmhurst Energy is calling on the government to ensure it is embedded across all retrofit projects.

Stuart Fairlie, Technical and Operations Director at Elmhurst Energy, said: “PAS 2035 should help to ensure the country’s existing housing stock moves safely and effectively towards our carbon reduction targets. It guarantees a whole-house approach to retrofit projects and provides proper consumer protection safeguards for residents. This is something that has been missing so far. PAS 2035 is a technical standard that everyone should embrace because it builds customer trust in the green retrofit market.

“We would like to see this standard applied across all relevant government policies and, beyond that, we’d like to see the private sector go down that route too. Mortgage lenders and banks providing loans for green home improvements would be a great example – by specifying PAS 2035 as a condition of lending, it would ensure quality outcomes for residents, raise customer service standards, build confidence in installers and help ready our housing stock for a decarbonised grid.”

For installers and housing providers, there are two options to ensure they can meet the new PAS requirements: teams can acquire in-house expertise by upskilling members of staff to become Retrofit Assessors or Coordinators; or they can work with external professionals.

Elmhurst Energy says information and links to training and professionals for installers who are unsure about what steps to take are available here.