Energy Saving Plan Builder

Explore and customise the energy efficiency improvements that might work for your home with our new online tool, Energy Saving Plan Builder. We've worked with Horsham District Council and Parity Projects to bring this free-to-use online tool to homeowners or tenants of domestic properties in Chichester District and Horsham District.

What can the tool help you with?

Making changes to your home that reduce your energy bills.
Improve the comfort and warmth of your home.
Estimate the costs of making the improvements.
Reduce your carbon emissions.

How do I use the tool?

Put in your postcode.
Choose your address.
Check your property information is correct.
Set your goal and budget.
Review or customise your plan.

The Plan Builder will then suggest suitable energy-saving measures for your home based on the goals you set, along with the estimated costs and savings of each measure. By registering a free account you can edit your property information, save and edit your plan and have it emailed to you.

While the tool is not meant to replace professional advice, it is a great way to help residents begin their home improvement journey for free and understand the options available. Once you have got your plan, search TrustMark's directory (opens new window) for professional advice and installers. And for rooftop solar panels, please search the MCS accredited installers (opens new window) directory.
Why are we providing this?

Both district councils have declared a Climate Emergency. Energy Saving Plan Builder is a great way to support residents in understanding how they can have a healthier, more comfortable home and save money all while helping to address climate change. Home energy use, particularly for heating our homes and cooking, contributes more than 30% of the carbon emissions in Chichester District.

Heritage (pre-1900) and atypical homes

Energy Saving Plan Builder is best suited to 'typical' homes build post-1900.

The tool is less suitable for homes that are atypical in the materials used, of less common construction types, conversions of agricultural buildings, or heritage buildings including listed buildings or those in Conservation Areas.

If you live in a heritage or atypical home we suggest contacting our Planning Team, where our Pre-Application advice service can provide guidance on your retrofitting options.

Professional advice is also available from a RICS Building Conservation Accredited Survey (opens new window) who provide a register of providers.

Free additional information relating to energy efficiency improvements and the retrofit of heritage homes is available from Historic England and Historic Scotland:

Your data

Chichester District Council and Horsham District Council are collaborating with Parity Projects to provide Energy Saving Plan Builder. Parity Projects provide the software platform and is a wholly owned subsidiary of CoreLogic U.K. Limited (trading as Cotality).

The online tool uses several sources of published data by license, including Royal Mail, Ordnance Survey and EPC databases.

There is no need to add any of your own personal data to use the tool. You have the option of registering an account with your email address if you would like your energy saving plan to be sent to you or if you would like to save and edit your property data or your customised plan, through your free account.

The district councils receive statistics on the number of plans produced but we do not receive any personal data, such as your email address or postal address.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Retrofit?

When we talk about retrofitting a home we mean improving the energy efficiency of a home by upgrading parts of it. This could include insulation, double glazed windows, providing renewable energy, heating and hot water or ventilation systems and draught proofing. For more information visit Whole House Retrofit.

Motivations to do this may include making your home more comfortable, less expensive to heat, keeping it warmer, healthier to live in and reducing carbon emissions, or a combination of these.

What is the difference between the priority options?

Reduce my CO2 emissions. This provides a combination of options for reducing use of fossil fuels and improving energy efficiency of homes to reduce energy bills.
Reduce my fuel bill. This provides options that prioritise energy efficiency to reduce energy bills, reducing carbon emissions is not prioritised.
Target Zero C02 emissions. This provides options that prioritise reducing carbon emissions, moving the home away from fossil fuel use.

The retrofit upgrades presented vary across any of the priority options, depending on what is feasible for your home, what the system knows of your home, and the budget you set.

I see little or no difference in the options presented for my home when I change priority options. Why is this?

In some cases, depending on the homes, the options can be the same or similar.

In other cases, and with a larger budget, bill cost reduction and carbon reduction options may be very different, such as replacing a gas or oil boiler with a heat pump.

How accurate are the retrofit suggestions provided?

Plan Builder uses a range of data sources, including the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) database. If the EPC was recently produced and is an accurate representation of what your home is, how it is constructed and what provides heating and hot water etc, it should be highly accurate. If there is no EPC, the system models the home based on nearby homes' information. If this is not accurate, you can edit the information, if you register your email and login.

Specifying the heating energy source, such as gas or electric, is very important in getting the most useful results, knowing what type of heaters or boiler you have is much less important.

The options Plan Builder provides you are a guide for comparison between the different upgrades you could make. You can turn options off and on to see the effect they make. Different homes and occupant usage will greatly impact costs and benefits.

We expect them to be most relevant where the system has the most accurate understanding of your home, your motivations (what you want to achieve) and budget available. We recommend professional advice is sought before committing to any works.

How accurate are the costs given?

The costs are as accurate as possible, based on market research and updated through the year. Grants may be applicable and in some circumstances reduce the cost of retrofitted items and services.

We recommend seeking at least 3 quotes where possible for any work being considered.

Where can I get professional advice?

Professional advice is available from recognised roles such as Retrofit Coordinators, Retrofit Assessors and Retrofit Designers. Further information is available from:

The data for my home is wrong, why is this and what can I do?

Plan Builder uses a range of data sources, including the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) database. If there is no EPC for your home, the system models your home based on nearby homes' information. If this is not accurate, you can edit the information, if you register your email and login.

If you wish to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate, you'll need to pay for one provided by a Domestic Energy Assessor. A search engine will give you options for local providers. We recommend you shop around, you could expect to pay in the region of £50-100. You only need a valid EPC if you are renting or selling your home.

An EPC will also give you home improvements suggestions you could make to reduce the cost of energy, rather than reducing carbon emissions.

Why is the cost of retrofitting my home high, and how can I pay for this?

The costs Plan Builder provides are offered as a reasonably realistic guide. The cost of building work and allied services and trades has risen over recent years as well as the cost of materials and transporting them. Quotes and estimates for works will vary.

As energy prices have risen in recent years, this increases manufacturing and distribution costs, in turn increasing costs of goods and services.

Homeowners and landlords may have equity in their homes and may have the opportunity to access this. Some mortgage lenders have arrangements or products to support retrofit of homes. It may be more cost-effective to do some retrofit upgrades at a suitable point in time, such as when the heating and hot water system replacement is due. Independent financial advice should be sought re. any financial arrangements or financial products.

Grants may assist some owners and tenants in certain circumstances. Please refer to the West Sussex Affordable Energy (opens new window) webpage for more information.

For context, around £15bn is spent every year to install around 1.3m new kitchens across the UK (Retrofitting homes for net zero, HC 453, House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, May 2025).

Energy Saving Plan Builder (opens new window)