As part of Glasgow’s Retrofit Summit (11-13 February) Gillian Campbell, co-director of Existing Homes Alliance, called for Scotland’s government to improve access to cash and advice to accelerate progress towards greener, warmer homes.

Campbell said: “We’d like to see an evolution of the current Home Energy Scotland scheme, so homeowners can access the kind of advice and support they need to upgrade their homes.  

“A register of one-stop-shops, providing advice, technical expertise and access to financial support has been shown to work in countries across Europe.   

“As we await the Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Bill we’d like to see the same ambition to help us meet our targets to decrease emissions from homes and buildings here in Scotland.” 

Householders across Glasgow, home to this week’s Retrofit Summit, agree that while it’s great to be a pioneer in low-carbon heating, change is needed to help more people follow suit.

Paul Eastwood, 53, and his partner Rebecca Reed, 56 have lived in Cathcart since 2017. In 2023, they decided to ditch their gas stove and boiler and fit a heat pump.  

Paul said: “The heat in here is steady and comfortable, even when it’s minus 10 outside. It feels nicer to be in the house than it did before, and it’s costing us less to run. 

“We got rid of the gas stove and now we’re a 100% electric household – that was my goal.” 

For Paul, moving away from gas - which creates harmful carbon dioxide when it burns - is the right thing to do to help prevent the world’s temperatures rising even further. 

In 2024, most of the UK’s energy came from cleaner and cheaper sources such as wind power. But thanks to the way the system works we’re still seeing rising bills.   

“If gas and electricity were the same price it’d be a different story,” added Paul. “At the moment you’re looking at 6p per kwh for gas compared to 24p per kwh for electricity. The efficiency of our heat pump offsets that difference in cost – but it could go even further if policymakers could change the way they subsidise the energy we use. 

“I think governments have to use policy levers to shift the economic incentives for greener heating. Unless it appeals to people’s pockets, wider change just won’t happen.”

When he started out Paul received advice from Glasgow co-operative Loco Home Retrofit and is now a member of the organisation, which hosts regular home visits and get-togethers for people who want to make the switch to greener heating.  

Simhika Rao, 35, is an architect living in Shawlands. She also came across Loco Home after researching how to make her one-bedroom, ground floor tenement flat more energy efficient. Her aspirations have been blocked, however, by the complex process of applying for support – and upfront costs. 

“When I moved in, I got Loco Home to do a full house survey to see what I could do. It seemed that insulation would be an easy win and then I’d eventually look at getting an air source heat pump.”

Like Paul, Simhika gained a lot from working with Loco Home and its members. “They’re really supportive. You can go on home tours and see what other people have done in their own homes to become more energy efficient.” 

The next steps, however, were tough. “It took a long time to get quotes. To apply for government funding for the work you need three quotes – people didn’t turn up, or didn’t turn up on time. It was really stressful. 

“There was some confusion from Home Energy Scotland on what level of grant was available for insulation. In the end, the cost I would have had to pay on top of the grant was just too much.”

For the moment, Simhika has parked the work, while she builds her own business. She feels frustrated because she wants to do her bit for the planet. ‘Most people are going into this process with the same motivation. We know we need to transition away from fossil fuels, and we want to do our bit. 

“More could be done by the government to improve the process, because the system is really tricky to navigate.” 

Rao would like to see the government’s grant and loan offers for heat pumps extend to insulation, too – rather than funding coming from different pots. “I wish there was a sliding scale based on where you are financially, so people on a lower income could get a little bit more help.” 

The Scottish Government is set to introduce its Heat in Buildings Bill this year, a long-awaited piece of legislation that homes campaigners hope will do more to help the public, private and social housing sectors cut fuel poverty and make homes more energy efficient.