Loco Home Retrofit  Reviews 11

Very much worthwhile and informative .
Good attention to detail and answers given clearly to questions asked .
Would recommend to others the service and survey for assistance in compiling information and facts on home insulation ,build and improvements possible
Dugi bell
Also very pleasant and polite staff

We moved into our traditional ground floor tenement flat in Glasgow in August 2024. It has a gas boiler and standard radiators for space heating. We deliberately aimed to buy a ground floor property to increase the chances of us being able to install an air source heat pump. We were also keen to decarbonise as much as we could afford.

Home Energy Scotland visited us and gave their generic assessment of how we might retrofit the property to this end. Internal wall insulation, underfloor insulation and hybrid heat pump technology were flagged as potentials (the latter was later dropped by HES as a funding-supported solution).

I heard about LocoHome through a Glasgow City Councillor and joined the cooperative. LocoHome undertook a Whole Home Plan for us in June this year. Having had to rule out underfloor insulation and ASHP projects (the solum space is filled with concrete), LocoHome’s detailed Plan gave us expert, impartial and experienced advice on which retrofit measures might be structurally appropriate. The wrap-around package of services they provide, particularly introducing us to suitably experienced retrofit supply chain providers, has been uniquely invaluable.

The living room on the gable end corner of the tenement is the coldest in the flat. The Plan identified the existing radiators as undersized in this room and hall. We replaced them with much larger units last month. The next step would be to install IWI behind the window panels, fireplace and inbuilt shelving cold spots identified in the living room. We would not have got anything like this far without the input of LocoHome’s expert knowledge of skilled, experienced tradespeople.

There are I understand, however, far too few of these practitioners in the Central Belt never mind in the rest of Scotland. ScotGov has a crucial role to play in incentivising existing trades companies, school leavers and training bodies to value the range of retrofit qualifications and skills urgently required to decarbonise our housing stock, particularly older heritage buildings where so many live. The postponed Heating in Buildings Bill should be one legislative vehicle for establishing a national home retrofit network to bring Scottish buildings into alignment with much of northern European standards.

We hope to get funding assistance from HES for the insulation work through their Grant and Loan Scheme, a service which LocoHome also supports members to apply for.

We cannot recommend the empowering LocoHome model and team highly enough. We can all do more to decarbonise: Think Global Act Local; and LocoHome can be that vital enabler on your journey 🌍

The whole home plan was invaluable in navigating the bewildering choices for a full retrofit. Jan, Angus and Chris have given me the unbiased advice I was seeking in a sometimes confusing process.

Excellent. This was a full home energy survey. Our house had never been comfortable and it has been really difficult to know what to do about it given the complexity of possibilities and the benefits and costs, insulation, windows, heat system etc. Angus Brodnax from Loco Home Retrofit was outstanding, thorough, detailed and very able in carrying out the survey and making recommendations for what is a less than conventional home. He laid out the information and was very patient in explaining and outlining his recommendations. This is an area with much misinformation and high degree of complexity. What was provided was information and real client centred advice. I highly recommend this organisation and Angus. I have some ahead with one of the key recommendations to fit and an air source hear pump and redesign the heating radiator system using an installer recommended by them. It has all come very smoothly despite the scale of the retro fit. While winter awaits, what Angus recommended has transformed the house from fluctuating cool and cold to an even temperature house, t-shirts instead of fleeces.

Main issue was re condensation and mould.
Loco advised me what to do to remove and prevent damp and condensation. Was very different from what I was planning.
Involved removing and insulating sloping ceilings, insulation in part of attic, underfloor insulating and heating house on a constant basis. 2 months after survey work and redecorating are complete.

House is so much warmer and condensation problem seems resolved. Fuel bills were low to begin with as was underheating house and now much the same or a bit lower. Very happy with outcome as have spent several years doing things which didn't resolve issues.
Recommended contractors dis excellent job. Wish I had contacted LOCO ages ago.

So valuable to have knowledgeable, informed advisers who are exploring the best practice in delivering whole house retrofit options and have worked out how to effectively hand-hold pioneering householders on their journey.

Loco Home were really helpful in my planning of changing from gas central heating to a heat pump, insulation, solar panels and battery storage. The survey they did gave me the information and confidence to engage the various companies supplying renewable systems. The online forum and the Loco Home face to face meetings were also really helpful in answering questions and gaining new information

I had a room which I suspected was suffering from excessive heat loss from an outside wall. LocoHome came and conducted a detailed survey of the room and concluded that there was indeed an issue with our cavity wall insulation as demonstrated on infra red imaging. I passed this report on to CIGA the insurance backed guarantee company for cavity wall insulation. After some discussion they agreed to send out their own surveyor who agreed that there was a problem with the cavity wall insulation that will now be rectified. They would not have agreed to this without the LocoHome report.

The whole house retrofit assessment was really detailed and comprehensive. It alerted me to a roof repair which wasn't spotted in the home report. It also provided really useful info for the windows and rough casting replacement. I was able to share insights with the contractor which made the job more efficient in terms of sequencing.

Disclaimer: I volunteer with this company.

I found the whole home plan I bought really useful for working out what to do to improve my home. I also paid for advice on some quotes from potential contractors which was very helpful and gave me a lot of confidence. I intend to use the contractor recommendation service to do the remaining works.

I also love the community and events Loco home facilitates.

Had a home survey to help me plan improvements to energy efficiency and think about heat pump for the house. Very thorough survey of the property, detailed report and really helpful advice which I knew I could trust as they aren't trying to sell a particular product.