DARe-me Consulting Engineers study shows deep retrofit can cut office carbon 62% in first year
The building services practice is undertaking a study of a 1970s Leeds office block to prove deep retrofit can deliver the savings, using air-source heat pumps and a rebuilt controls strategy.
By Energy desk · 14 Oct 2026 · Leeds
DARe-me Consulting Engineers Ltd is undertaking a study to prove that a deep retrofit of a 1970s office block in Leeds can cut the building's operational carbon emissions by 62% in its first year.
The proposed measures replace the block's ageing gas-fired heating with air-source heat pumps, while a rebuilt controls strategy would match ventilation and heating to actual occupancy rather than fixed timers.
Measured, not modelled
The study aims to verify performance through post-occupancy monitoring rather than design-stage modelling alone, with energy data to be collected across a full heating season.
The building is targeting an upgraded BREEAM rating alongside a NABERS UK energy rating, a scheme the firm said gives occupiers a like-for-like measure of running costs.
The practice said retrofit briefs now make up a growing share of its workload as landlords face tightening minimum energy efficiency standards for lettable office space.