Selce's summer of DIY - empowering communities with retrofit skills

“Selce was built on a DIY ethos. And this summer, we are going back to our roots,” says Selce’s CEO, Giovanna Speciale.

Selce's summer programme of free and low-cost events is designed to empower local residents to have a better understanding of different systems and materials, led by industry professionals.

But the community energy co-op also believe that the spirit of DIY goes beyond learning to do technical work just for yourself - they see it as a "strategic tool" for building a resilient and cohesive society.

After a whistlestop tour of some of your energy efficiency, retrofit options, find all the summer's events below.

In the UK, we have some of the oldest and leakiest housing stock in Europe. This means colder, damper, more expensive-to-heat homes that are wasteful of precious planetary resources.

In Lewisham, buildings account for just over 50% of the borough’s carbon emissions, so the actions we take at home really do matter.

“Living in a Victorian terrace house, the walls are solid brick, so there’s no insulation there.

"We constantly struggle with damp in the outside walls and corners, anywhere there isn’t a radiator in the winter, and in the summer, our house gets very hot,” says Sarah Amandes, an organiser with Parents for Future.

It’s a marathon, not a race: start small and keep going!

Sarah started where she could, with the money and time she had available.

“We’ve draughtproofed our windows and doors, installed chimney sheep, did some repointing and made lots of small changes ourselves that have made our home more comfortable and cheaper to run,” says Amandes.

“As a family with young kids, our budgets are quite tight. We haven’t spent very much time or money to make these changes, but we are feeling a positive difference already.”

Ready for the next step? Insulating your loft is quick, taking only a day or two.

Because it is relatively easy, it’s a great way to build confidence while cutting your energy bills. Plus, now there are lots of different recycled and natural materials available that are nice to work with.

“We noticed a huge difference with the loft insulation,” says Tamasin Rhymes of Greener Greenwich Community Network.

“Literally, as you go up the ladder to the loft, you can feel the temperature change while we remain comfortable in the main part of the house.”

Other kinds of insulation, such as interior and exterior wall insulation, as well as solar panels and heating system upgrades, require greater skill and a larger investment of time, energy, and money.

The best place to start is to understand your home, what it needs are and being clear on the resources (time, money, skills, and attention) you can dedicate to retrofitting your home.

Regardless if you are doing the work yourself or working with contractors (or both), getting surveys like Whole House Plans can help you understand what you can do and in what order with the resources available to you.

Join the Summer of DIY to grow your energy efficiency skills

Given that financial support for homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient is limited at the moment, the team at South East London Community Energy (Selce) have recently launched the Summer of DIY.

The programme of free and low-cost events is designed to empower local residents to have a better understanding of different systems and materials, led by industry professionals.

• The Festival of Retrofit (June 7), filled with talks, stalls, and activities.
• A DIY day building a small green roof, practicing putting up different kinds of natural wall insulation, and learning how to install loft insulation (June 21).
• A practical repointing workshop to make small repairs to your walls (June 28).
• A series of Solar Power Sundays to understand everything you need to know about off-grid and on-grid solar power (July 5–19).
• Plus, a series of lunch-and-learn webinars covering net-zero, overheating, assessing if your roof is suited to solar, and natural insulation theory.

“Londoners are busy people," says Giovanna Speciale. "In a world where we are continuously juggling our priorities, tasks like understanding different technologies or contractor jargon can be a real barrier to making improvements to one’s home.

"We want to give local homeowners a chance to handle different materials before doing work on their house.”

Moving from do-it-yourself toward do-it-together: become an energy champion

The spirit of DIY goes beyond learning to do technical work for yourself; becoming a strategic tool for building a resilient and cohesive society.

By distributing skills and fostering a culture of adaptability, DIY empowers communities to withstand shocks, like the energy and climate crises we are now facing.

Consequently, Selce is offering anyone who would like to become a local energy champion fully subsidised spaces. You can be an energy champion if you are:

• Committed to doing building works within the next year.
• Planning to share what you learn with your wider community.
• Willing to "buddy up" to mutually support one another’s projects.
• Unable to afford the training otherwise.

By transforming individual DIY efforts into a collective "do-it-together" movement, the Summer of DIY programme aims to empower residents to overcome financial and technical barriers while building a more resilient community.

Ultimately, sharing skills and fostering local collaboration creates a sustainable path forward for tackling energy inefficiency and the broader climate crisis in your own home.

To find out more about Selce’s Summer of DIY, visit www.selce.org.uk/events.

To find out how Selce can support you on your energy efficiency journey, visit www.selce.org.uk/greening-your-home.

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