ECD ARCHITECTS: A NEW MODEL FOR TACKLING ESTATE REFURBISHMENT AND FUEL POVERTY | 25 LESSONS LEARNED LSE and Southampton University continue to monitor the performance of the building and satisfaction of Wilmcote residents. Southampton University results for winter and summer seasons have shown that the building provides thermal comfort in winter with little or no active heating whilst reducing the risk of overheating in the summer. LSE interviewed residents before, during and after the works and feedback has shown that residents are very pleased with the outcome. Prior to the works LSE interviewed 15 residents and sought to maintain contact with the same residents throughout the project and post-completion. During pre-retrofit interviews, one resident said, “I hate it [the mould], I mean I’ve got pictures at one side of my bed and one picture now is…it gets mould spores all over it. I had like little mushrooms growing on the window out there, in the inside, little tiny mould mushrooms…” Another resident said, “I know most of my friends in the block are struggling, quite often they knock at the door ‘can I borrow a tenner over the electric?’ …it’s most weeks during the winter. I went to my friend’s house and I had to borrow a coat to put on when I went in, on the third floor, because she doesn’t have any heating on at all, she can’t afford it.” As a result of the refurbishment works Southampton University have found that during the extremely low temperatures of winter of 2017-18 popularly known as ‘The Beast from the East’ over 60% of the residents interviewed used their heating system less than once a month and nearly 40% never used their heating at all. Despite this, internal temperatures in virtually all flats remained well above World Health Organisation thresholds for human comfort. This proves that thermal comfort and reduced fuel bills can be achieved by deep retrofit. When LSE revisited the block following completion tenants provided the following remarks: “In the winter its much, much better and warmer, the heater provides heat for the whole flat not like before.” “It is better because before all this was old. We had drafts, condensation and mould everywhere but now because of the new windows that’s gone, it’s a lot better.” “Before you had heaters in every room and it was storage heaters which cost a lot.” Outcomes.