Powering change: The interns’ energy efficiency project

25 Aug 2026

During their 12-week internship at West Suffolk Council, the interns have been working with the Private Sector Housing team to promote a new service for rental properties in West Suffolk, called the Landlord Retrofit Hub.

This new service will help guide landlords to meet the government’s new energy efficiency standard 2030 deadline of improving their rental properties to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above.

They have also been working to further promote grants to help improve residents' domestic energy efficiency and gain a better understanding of some of the barriers people face when accessing the grants and schemes.

The interns conducted research using statistics from the 2021 Census and the Warm Homes: Local Grant eligible postcodes 2026 database, as well as attended online training from the National Energy Action (NEA) and collaborating with the West Suffolk Lettings Partnership and Safe Suffolk Renters. Following this, they decided to hold market stall events in late July, and early August located in Brandon, Bury St Edmunds, Mildenhall, Haverhill and Newmarket to raise awareness for the new Landlord Retrofit Hub.

They spoke to a total of 215 local people across all five markets, including landlords, homeowners and renters. We collected data through conversations at our market stalls, asking questions about the participant’s tenure, level of interest in domestic energy efficiency or the Landlord Retrofit Hub, their EPC rating and knowledge of available grants and loans. They received 137 responses from participants at the market stalls about their EPC ratings and found that 75% of people they spoke to did not know their EPC rating.

At their market stalls the interns also spoke to landlords who expressed concerns about the new guidelines and the feasibility of improving their properties to reach an EPC rating of C or above. Their concerns stemmed from perceived barriers in their properties, such as listed buildings that cannot have solar panels installed due to legal restrictions.

Overall, the main barriers that the interns identified that prevented homeowners and landlords from accessing support to improve their domestic energy efficiency were age, income and hesitancy to engage with the council. Socially rented properties also faced their own challenges as residents felt they had little control over retrofitting their property.

The data that they collected will be used to improve future delivery of services with a clearer understanding of the concerns and barriers that landlords and homeowners face.

There were some limitations to their research at the markets, such as members of the public not wanting to stop and engage in conversation. The market stalls were also held mid-week during working hours, so this may have limited the number of participants taking part in the research, therefore impacting the results.

Conversations frequently strayed from the topic of energy efficiency or the Landlord Retrofit Hub; for example, the interns were asked questions about the new Better Recycling system. The interns noted that if they were to do the project again, they would organise an event such as a webinar or drop in to target those with an existing interest in domestic energy efficiency or landlords.

For further information on energy efficiency funding schemes, please visit: Domestic Energy Efficiency Funding

For personalised advice, please complete our domestic energy efficiency feedback form and our Healthy Homes Advisor will be in touch: Microsoft Forms - Domestic Energy Efficiency Feedback Form

For landlords with rental properties in West Suffolk, please complete the Landlord Retrofit Hub sign-up form: Microsoft Forms - Landlord Retrofit Hub sign-up form
 

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