Discover The Home Upgrade Show this October!
Of all the state-of-the-art tools and technologies set to make homes more energy efficient, robots must be some of the most exciting.
“We’re going to be showcasing one of our absolutely fantastic robots,” said Kim Nuut, Head of Partners at robotic underfloor insulation technology manufacturer Q-Bot. “We’ll probably bring Hercules but we haven’t decided! We will be showcasing some of our software as well.”
Kim is one of dozens of retrofit stakeholders who will be showcasing cutting-edge retrofit products, services, information and technologies at our Home Upgrade Show taking place at Manchester’s beautiful Victoria Baths in October.
Creating a unique showcase focused on supporting property owners, community groups and householders, the two-day event - part of Retrofit Action Week - will play a vital role in supporting the delivery of retrofit locally, with the first day devoted to trade professionals and the second devoted to homeowners.
Low Carbon Homes hosted a Discovery Day at the Baths attended by local government officials, manufacturers, solution providers and contractors, to give confirmed and potential participants a sense of the extraordinary space and brainstorm content ideas for the show.
Speaking at the Discovery Day, Kim urged others to take the plunge and come along in October. “If you’re on the fence, then my message to you would be...get off the fence!” she said. “One of the most important things we can do now is to do as much as we can for decarbonisation.”
We were delighted that Sharon Hanbury, Zero Carbon Programme Manager at Manchester City Council, also attended the Discovery Day. “Retrofit is massively important to the Council,” she said. “Housing makes a significant contribution to carbon emissions and 80% of the buildings which we will have in 2050 have already been built.
“It will also help our residents and communities with the cost of living and improve their health and wellbeing,” Sharon added. “The Home Upgrade Show will be a fabulous place to showcase retrofit products, services and solutions. The Baths really are an incredible space. It’s something different which will grab people’s attention.”
There are a number of ways for retrofit stakeholders to participate in October, including taking a stall in the former ‘Second Male’ Pool Hall!
Charlie Baker runs the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s homeowner retrofit support service Your Home Better and separately is a director at retrofit specialists Red Co-op. “The retrofit industry should have matured a decade ago,” he said. “Instead, we’ve had ten years of false dawns and cancelled starts.
“We need to build a retrofit community of interest and Low Carbon Homes’ Home Upgrade Show is crucial for doing that – by getting retrofit stakeholders out of their silos and encouraging them to talk to each other.
“At Your Home Better, we’re meeting our targets for householder engagement and we’re close to meeting our target for delivering whole house plans to customers.
“But it's been a nightmare getting people to provide a quote for insulation works on site. Contractors need to come along to build our capacity, to be able to deliver for customers.” There are plenty of stall spaces so please get in touch if you are interested in having one.
We will also hold training sessions and workshops aimed at contractors and homeowners keen to embark on their retrofit journey. Manchester-based one-stop-shop People Powered Retrofit will lead these in the former Superintendent’s flat on the first floor.
“We’ll be there to offer training to interested construction professionals and householders,” said Hafsa Mekki, a Training Coordinator at PPR. “We train contractors, architects and surveyors but also householders so they can pass on retrofit best practice to their contractors.”
Hafsa added: “We will also be there to introduce homeowners to our home retrofit planner and to help other householders start that journey. We provide a service to householders who are keen to retrofit their homes, making sure they have an impartial assessment on what’s needed.”
We are open to more ideas for workshops and training sessions at the Show so if you have any ideas we would love to hear from you.
The Home Upgrade Show is also open to community groups and householders on the second day (Sat 14 Oct).