The time for trials is over: Metis has built the model for mass low-carbon retrofit – Tom Woolley, Products & Strategy Director

Summary

For years, local authorities and policymakers have called for innovation to unlock home retrofit. But as SMS Products & Strategy Director Tom Woolley argues, the innovation phase is over. Through its partnership with Oxfordshire County Council, Metis has proven that large-scale low-carbon retrofit works technically, financially, and socially. The challenge now is adoption. This is the moment to move from pilots to delivery and make retrofit as simple and scalable as a mobile phone subscription.

The retrofit challenge is no longer about technology, it’s about action

The technologies that will decarbonise our homes already exist. Solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps have been proven for decades, and their costs are falling fast. What’s been missing is a delivery model that makes them accessible, affordable, and trusted by ordinary households. Too many pilots have focused on testing individual technologies rather than fixing the process that gets them into homes. As a result, momentum has stalled, and the UK risks missing crucial Net Zero milestones unless we turn proven innovation into scaled deployment.

Local authorities face the same barriers as households: limited funding, fragmented supply chains, and complex procurement. Government decarbonisation funding cannot shoulder the full cost of retrofit, and private finance is too often sidelined by uncertainty. What’s needed is confidence, and a model that proves retrofit can work for everyone involved: residents, landlords, and the public sector.

Metis has built that model: a single, seamless route from engagement to installation

Over the past two years, our team at SMS has invested heavily to design and prove a complete end-to-end retrofit system. Metis unites what has traditionally been a chain of 10 to 15 disconnected organisations into one seamless process. From initial engagement to 25-year asset support, every stage is integrated and simplified.

It starts with awareness, using partner brands and local data to identify opportunities. The free Energy Saver App then helps residents understand their energy use and potential savings, reducing energy spend by an average of 9% before any installation begins.

From there, honest retrofit simulations model the impact of Solar and Battery for each home, while fixed-fee subscriptions remove the upfront cost barrier entirely. Behind the scenes, Metis connects data from trusted national sources, manages design, installation, and optimisation, and continues to monitor systems to maximise resident savings and flexibility revenues for years to come.

Oxfordshire proved that this model works and that residents want it

Our Oxfordshire County Council partnership has shown that low-carbon retrofit can succeed at scale when technology meets trust. The pilot delivered average household savings of £375 per property compared to pre-install levels, with total savings exceeding £53,000 across the cohort. Participants generated 461 MWh of electricity, enough to power 170 homes for a year.

But the most transformative results came from engagement. More than 65% of residents who used the Energy Saver App and offered the subscription model for solar and battery, opted into the solution, an unheard-of conversion rate in the energy sector. The post-trial survey recorded 80% recommending the app to others and 43% reporting reduced anxiety about energy bills. When households understand their energy and trust the provider, demand for retrofit follows naturally.

As Dale Hoyland of Oxfordshire County Council put it, the project has been “a real success story,” helping residents make their homes more efficient while unlocking “lower bills, improved wellbeing, greater grid flexibility and meaningful climate action”. In short, the Oxfordshire model proves retrofit can be trusted, affordable, and self-sustaining, with no grants required.

The time for trials is over, now we must deliver at scale

After years of pilots, the UK has the evidence it needs. The technology works, the finance exists, and the appetite from residents is clear. Continuing to test what has already been proven only delays progress. Every new pilot means another community waiting, another winter of rising costs, and another year lost on the road to Net Zero.

What’s required now is confidence and coordination. Local authorities and housing providers can use the Metis model today to meet EPC C requirements, unlock private finance, and meet their carbon targets without waiting for the next funding round. The industry must stop treating retrofit as a research project and start treating it as essential infrastructure.

From blueprint to reality

At SMS, we’ve shown that retrofit can be simple, affordable, and scalable, but only if the sector moves from talk to delivery. Our Oxfordshire partnership didn’t just prove the model. It provided a national blueprint. The next step is replication. With every home we retrofit, we cut carbon, create local jobs, and give households control over their energy. The time for trials is over. The model is here. Let’s get on with it.