Building Sustainable Futures
Ben Foster MBE – Founder, Tactical Energy Systems Ltd
A veteran of 16 years service as an Officer in the British Army’s Corps of Royal Engineers, Ben completed his final tour of duty at Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell, retiring from the forces in 2021 in the rank of Major. His career saw him managing engineering and construction works across several countries. Highlights include delivering real life support infrastructure in remote parts of Kenya, supporting the NHS with construction of the Nightingale Hospital, Harrogate, and delivering a range of infrastructure projects across the Middle East. He was fortunate to have the opportunity to complete an MSc in Construction Engineering and work for both John Holland Group as a building services engineer, and Jacobs Engineering as a heating, ventilation & air conditioning design engineer in Brisbane Australia.
The British Armed Forces are full of incredibly talented people and Ben is both proud and privileged to have served.
A keen mountaineer, Ben has joined and led several expeditions to major mountain ranges including the Alps, Himalaya, Denali and Rocky Mountains. The military use the challenging conditions that mountaineering and other outdoor pursuits offer to push the physical and emotional boundaries of service personnel to simulate the stress of a warfighting environment.
Exposure to these environments, and witnessing first hand the demise of many glaciers, fuels Bens passion to contribute in some way to the battle against climate change. He hopes enough can be done that his children might experience the majesty of glaciated mountains, when they’re old enough.
Now settled in Borrowash, in the pursuit of renovating his 1960’s semi-detached home, Ben is striving to make the house as energy efficient as possible. Embarking on his own retrofit journey spurred him into establishing Tactical Energy Systems, to act as a trusted partner to others who seek to do the same, and as a small contribution to averting a climate change catastrophe. He also wants to get more control over his energy bill!
Through Tactical Energy Systems, Ben aims to:
- Provide advice on the full spectrum of energy efficiency improvements, and their suitability for different property and construction types. Ben can help you avoid the horror stories of efficiency measures gone wrong, by ensuring measures are appropriate for your home and installed properly.
- Suggest how best to join-up and sequence multiple energy efficiency improvements, perhaps in a phased plan, over several years. This drives efficiency in installation, and ensures improvements complement each other for maximum effect.
- Help homeowners cut through the sales-bluff so common in the sector, with factual information, transparency and tailored advice.
With stories of failed retrofit mounting, the government commissioned a review of the sector in 2015. The recommendations are encapsulated in Publicly Available Specification 2035 (PAS 2035), which sets out retrofit principles, defines an industry code of practice, and provides accreditation for those working in the industry. Ben is an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor and Retrofit Assessor in accordance with PAS2035. He is also finalising his Retrofit Coordinator accreditation.
Ben is excited to combine his military engineering experience with home energy retrofit, and hopes he can be of service to his community in that capacity.
Tactical Energy Systems was founded by Ben Foster MBE, a veteran officer of the British Army’s Corps of Royal Engineers.
With 20 years experience in engineering and construction, Ben Foster founded Tactical Energy Systems to provide homeowners with whole-home, honest and factual energy efficiency advice.
