Ellora Coupe

22/06/2026

Today my daughter's school closed because of the Red Alert heat warning.

I sat there thinking how extraordinary it is that we have reached a point where extreme heat is disrupting our lives, and yet we still often talk about retrofit as if it is some niche sustainability concept.

It isn't.

Retrofit is about creating healthy, safe and resilient buildings that can cope with the reality of the world we now live in.

When temperatures rise to dangerous levels, the difference between a building that overheats and one that remains comfortable is not luck. It is design. It is ventilation. It is materials. It is understanding building physics.

This is why the work of the Retrofit Action For Tomorrow (RAFT) campaign, led by the brilliant Harry Paticas and his team, matters so much. RAFT is helping to shine a light on the fact that our buildings need to be prepared not only for winter but for increasingly hot summers too.

Only 27 days ago they launched The Cooler Schools Campaign, please sign it and share your stories on their pallet
https://www.retrofitaction.org.uk/coolerschools

https://padlet.com/RAFTPADLET/cooler-schools-lj4c4brwfmwj5vx8

The materials we choose matter.

Many people are surprised to learn that some insulation materials can slow heat transfer for far longer than others. Materials with higher thermal mass and greater decrement delay can help keep homes and schools cooler for much longer during heatwaves.

Some natural insulation materials can delay heat movement through a building for many hours, helping to protect occupants from overheating.

Ventilation matters too.

Yet how many schools still rely on opening windows and hoping for a breeze?

Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) should not be seen as a luxury in educational buildings. Good ventilation improves air quality, supports concentration, reduces pollutants and can form part of an effective strategy for creating healthier learning environments throughout the year.

We have spent decades focusing on keeping buildings warm. We now need to focus equally on keeping them safe during extreme heat.

This is why I care so deeply about retrofit.

Not because of energy bills.

Not because of carbon targets.

But because retrofit sits at the intersection of health, comfort, resilience and quality of life.

It is the missing piece of the renovation puzzle.

For too long, homeowners have been encouraged to renovate without understanding how a building works as a whole system. Retrofit changes that. It helps us create homes that are healthier, more comfortable, cheaper to run and better prepared for the future.

That is exactly why Her Own Space.com exists.

To help women homeowners understand the value of retrofit, ask better questions, make informed decisions and create homes that truly support the wellbeing of the people who live in them.

Because every family deserves a home that works with them, not against them.

And on a day when schools are closing because of heat, that feels more important than ever.

22/06/2026

🚨 The biggest risks women homeowners face are often NOT the ones we expect...

If there's one thing I hear over and over again, it's this:
💬 "I'm terrified of getting it wrong."

Not because women aren't capable of making good decisions—we absolutely are. We manage careers, businesses, families, budgets, and complex projects every day.
But when it comes to our homes, we're often expected to make expensive decisions in an industry filled with jargon, conflicting advice, and pressure to decide quickly.

Here are the first 3 risks I see most often:

🔹 Risk #1: Feeling pressured to make decisions before you're ready
When professionals are giving different opinions and you're making decisions worth thousands of pounds, it's okay to slow down and ask questions. The right professional will explain the why, the alternatives, and the risks—not rush you.

🔹 Risk #2: Solving the wrong problem
Too many homeowners spend money treating symptoms rather than understanding the cause. Damp, insulation, ventilation, heating systems—without proper investigation, you could end up fixing the wrong thing.

🔹 Risk #3: Becoming the project manager without realising it
You hire professionals expecting guidance, but suddenly you're chasing quotes, coordinating contractors, comparing technical advice, and holding the entire project together.
And that's just the beginning...
In the full article, I share 10 of the biggest risks women homeowners face during renovations, retrofits, and home improvement projects—and, more importantly, how to avoid them.

✨ If you're a woman homeowner who wants independent advice, trusted information, and a supportive community that understands the challenges you're facing, we'd love to welcome you.

Join the www.herownspace.com community today and read the full article inside.

🌐 Become part of a growing community of women making confident, informed decisions about their homes.

Because you don't need to know everything before you start you just need access to the right information and people who have your back.

18/06/2026

Big Changes Could Be Coming to Home Retrofit and Energy Upgrade Projects

If you are planning insulation, solar panels, a heat pump, batteries or other energy efficiency improvements in the coming years, the Government has just launched a major consultation that could affect how these projects are delivered and protected.

Why?

Following serious problems found in some government funded insulation schemes, where thousands of households experienced poor quality work, damp, mould and costly issues, the Government says it wants to rebuild trust and make sure homeowners are better protected.

Some of the proposals include:

✅ A single place for homeowners to go for advice, support and complaints

✅ Stronger checks on installers and retrofit professionals

✅ Better protection if something goes wrong

✅ Faster routes to getting problems fixed

✅ Improved guarantees and consumer safeguards

✅ More government oversight of quality and standards

✅ Better information to help homeowners make informed decisions

Perhaps most importantly, the focus is shifting towards preventing problems before they happen, rather than trying to sort them out afterwards.

For homeowners, this could mean a simpler and safer experience when upgrading your home, with clearer accountability and stronger protection throughout the process.

The consultation is also a reminder of why choosing the right professionals, understanding your home properly, and taking a whole house approach remains so important.

As retrofit becomes more mainstream, confidence and trust will be just as important as the technologies themselves.

What do you think?

How do you safeguard that work done on your home is the right approach?

16/06/2026

What are women homeowners actually talking about inside Her Own Space?

One of the things I love most about our community is the conversations...

In the past few weeks alone, women homeowners have been discussing:

🏡 Whether solar panels make financial sense in today's changing energy market and what recent Financial Times analysis means for household decisions.

📋 Understanding Building Regulations and the legal duties homeowners can face when planning extensions, loft conversions, renovations and retrofit projects.

🌿 The pros and cons of natural insulation materials including wood fibre, cork, h**p, wool, cellulose and lime, alongside important discussions about moisture, breathability and long term performance.

💷 How to fund home improvements when finance becomes the biggest barrier, including grants, loans, green finance products and understanding return on investment.

🔥 Why homes lose heat at junctions and how understanding the way your home fits together can help avoid expensive mistakes during renovation.

👩‍💼 How to find a retrofit focused architect, what retrofit expertise actually looks like, and how to identify professionals with the right skills for your project.

⚡ What the government's Warm Homes Plan could mean for future home improvements, energy costs and property values.

But what makes Her Own Space different is that these conversations don't happen in isolation.

Alongside expert guidance, members share real experiences, lessons learned, supplier recommendations, project photos, mistakes to avoid and practical advice from women who are navigating the same challenges.

Whether you're planning a retrofit, exploring renewable technology, tackling damp and insulation issues, considering a heat pump, looking at solar, or simply trying to understand your options, you'll find women asking the same questions and learning together.

Improving your home shouldn't mean figuring everything out alone without the right unbiased advice.

👇 Join www.herownspace.com today

07/06/2026

One of the most exciting things we do is run our platform www.HerOwnSpace.com exclusively for women across the UK undertaking sustainable renovations and retrofit work and using natural and the correct materials in our homes with the right suppliers and construction professionals.

We are independent non for profit focused on providing the best support, community and resources to enable women homeowners to also strive to own the best renovated homes across the UK.

If you want to future proof your home today and understand why the homeowners in the real know how are using the right materials, gaining clarity and security with renewable energy such as heat pumps and solar you can watch this short video and simply join us today if you want to join the right community for women homeowners.

Any questions feel free to ask away here too. :-)

https://youtu.be/8rbDAnNwjmA?si=_DqdUC3l-gxx_MVQ

What does Building Better really mean when it comes to traditional ...

18/05/2026

One of the biggest barriers women homeowners repeatedly talk about when it comes to retrofit is finance.

Not lack of interest.
Not lack of care.
But simply how to afford doing things properly.

And often the pressure to choose the cheapest or quickest option can unfortunately become the most expensive long term through damp, condensation, poor ventilation or work needing to be redone later.

More finance options are slowly emerging through green mortgages, retrofit lending and government backed schemes and the Green Finance Institute has some useful insight into the growing retrofit finance landscape.

https://www.greenfinanceinstitute.com/products-solutions/retrofit-services-and-partnerships-hub/

We have also been having some really important conversations inside our community around sequencing work properly, reducing risk, managing costs realistically and how women homeowners can approach retrofit without feeling financially overwhelmed.

Join us today at www.herownspace.com

06/05/2026

It’s taken a war and an energy security shock to force the issue.

But the direction is now clear.

The UK cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels in the way we have. Our homes are a big part of that problem and they are also where some of the most practical change can happen.

Retrofit is no longer a niche or something to think about later. It is about reducing exposure to rising energy costs, improving comfort, and making homes more resilient to what is clearly an unstable energy system.

And this matters for women in a very real way.

Women are often the ones managing household budgets, noticing when homes are cold or damp, thinking about health, children, and day to day comfort. Yet when it comes to making decisions about energy upgrades or renovation, many are expected to navigate a complex, technical space without clear, independent guidance.

That gap is still there.

There is a lot of noise, a lot of conflicting advice, and a lot of pressure to make the wrong decisions quickly and to get advice form the wrong people.

Retrofit done well is not about rushing into technology. It is about understanding your home, making the right choices in the right order, and knowing who and what to trust.

That is exactly why Her Own Space exists.

If you are thinking about improving your home, reducing energy use, or just trying to understand what all of this means in practice, you do not have to work it out on your own.

Join Her Own Space for independent advice, clear guidance, and a community of women homeowners working through this together.

👉 www.herownspace.com

01/05/2026

Would you buy a heat pump made of Corten Steel that is designed to rust and creates a patina that ensure the longevity of the heat pump?

Heat pumps are being designed to look more and more aesthetically pleasing, but do you prefer it before it rusts or after and what about all these other colours?

https://kronoterm.eu/corten-material-for-modern-architecture-and-sustainable-applications/

22/04/2026

The Government’s Warm Homes Plan signals something much bigger than policy.
It signals a shift towards healthier, safer, lower energy homes and it is a good moment for homeowners to start paying attention.
Retrofit may sound technical, but at heart it means improving your home so it works better for you through comfort, lower bills, resilience and wellbeing.
That can mean:
• Better insulation and a warmer home
• Thinking about energy security and cleaner heating
• Healthier materials and better air quality
• Tackling damp, overheating and future climate risks
• Exploring solar, batteries and other upgrades in the right order
And the support is growing:
• Up to £9,000 grants for some heat pumps
• Proposed loans for solar, batteries and clean heating
• Zero VAT continuing on many energy saving measures
• EPCs evolving to focus more on performance, not just a single score
To me, the biggest shift is this:
The question is no longer whether homes will need upgrading, but how to do it well.
And women homeowners need to be part of shaping that.
If you want a place to understand retrofit without sales pressure, ask questions, learn from others and make confident decisions for your home, join us in Her Own Space today.
✨ Come join other women navigating this too at www.herownspace.com

22/04/2026

Big news for women homeowners thinking about future proofing your home 🌿

Ed Miliband has announced an increase to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and it is a significant one.

If your home is heated by oil or LPG, you may now be able to get up to £9,000 towards a heat pump, up from £7,500.

This is especially relevant for many off gas grid homes, where heating costs can be volatile and hard to manage.

And this is not just about going greener.

It is about energy security, lower running costs, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels while making homes warmer and more resilient.

But grants alone do not make decisions easier.

How do you know if a heat pump is right for your house?
What upgrades might need to come first?
How do you avoid expensive mistakes?

These are exactly the kinds of questions women are exploring together inside Her Own Space.

If you want impartial support, trusted guidance and a community of women making thoughtful sustainable renovation decisions, come and join us.

✨ Join us today at www.HerOwnSpace.com and make your next home upgrade with more confidence.
What would £9,000 towards a heat pump make possible in your home?👇