13 research outputs found
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Reducing carbon emissions from residential heritage buildings while retaining their heritage values
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Reducing carbon from residential heritage buildings while retaining their values
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Reducing Carbon while Retaining Heritage: retrofitting approaches for vernacular buildings and their residents
Retrofitting the built environment is critical for mitigating devastating climate change. Operational energy from buildings is responsible for 27% of global carbon emissions. However, standard retrofitting approaches are often not appropriate for the 20-30% of UK homes with heritage value. This research examines the potential for realistic carbon reduction from these buildings while retaining their heritage values.
The county of Cumbria was the overarching case for this research which involved a resident survey, 16 individual building-resident case studies with both quantitative and qualitative data, and lifecycle modelling of retrofit options.
The study found that most residents of vernacular buildings, whether with official heritage designation or not, invest heritage values in their buildings and that these values affect the retrofits they consider acceptable and will therefore enact. Meanwhile, most residents already engage in energy conscious behaviour. In contrast to common assumptions, most residents find their buildings comfortable, emphasising excellent summer performance, although previous maladaptions can present challenges. The study further showed that standard modelling tools poorly reflect both vernacular buildings’ energy performance and residents’ behaviours and preferences, thus frequently recommending inappropriate alterations.
When the embodied carbon of the retrofits was calculated alongside the operational savings it frequently influenced which measures had the lowest lifecycle carbon. There were also positive synergies between measures with low embodied carbon and those acceptable to residents’ heritage values; these measures tend to be non-invasive and less technical but are harder to model and quantify and therefore often overlooked.
This research shows that we should acknowledge residents’ values and behaviours, consider residents and their buildings as interrelated and interdependent, and include the embodied impacts of retrofit, if we are to realistically make desperately needed carbon reductions from our buildings. This study has implications for retrofitting approaches and policies for vernacular buildings with applicability far beyond Cumbria
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Rethinking retrofit of residential heritage buildings
What are the opportunities and challenges for upscaling the energy retrofit of heritage buildings? Heritage buildings comprise approximately 20% of the UK building stock and are challenging to retrofit sensitively because of their heritage values and traditional construction. These buildings may therefore be unconducive to standard retrofitting approaches. Twelve case studies in the UK are examined. Three key findings are presented together with their implications for upscaling retrofit. First, heritage residents are found to engage in positive energy behaviours, which differ from standard assumptions and have a significant impact on energy demand. Second, standard energy models are shown to considerably overestimate the energy use within heritage buildings, failing to accurately portray both traditional construction and residents’ behaviours. Third, residents consider many common retrofits, such as replacement windows and wall insulation, to be unacceptable to their heritage values. A number of more acceptable and less invasive ‘soft retrofits’ were modelled and shown to have significant potential for reducing energy and carbon. Therefore, a more holistic approach to heritage building retrofitting needs to be taken, treating the complex interrelationship of buildings and their users as a system, and expanding notions of retrofitting to include soft retrofits and user behaviour.
Policy relevance
This research identified the importance of appropriately retrofitting heritage buildings, which include around 20% of the UK building stock. Standard solutions such as wall insulation and window replacement are unlikely to be enacted by most heritage residents because they are not acceptable to their heritage values, suggesting the need to prioritise other measures. Standard energy models such as Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP) were found to be inaccurate for heritage buildings, overestimating energy use by both buildings and occupants, and should not be used to inform retrofit decisions for these buildings. Notions of retrofit should be expanded beyond fabric alterations to include behavioural changes and non-technical measures, including thermal curtains or shutters, which are more acceptable to residents and therefore more likely to be actioned. The potential exists to upscale retrofitting in heritage buildings, but approaches must consider specific user behaviour and view buildings and their occupants as interconnected systems
Residents' comfort perceptions in domestic heritage buildings
Reducing energy and associated carbon emissions from the existing built environment is critically important to meet our climate goals. Heritage buildings are often presented in the literature as energy inefficient, and uncomfortable to inhabit. There is however little research into residents’ perceptions of comfort in these buildings to support this view, while there is some evidence to suggest that heritage buildings may be more thermally comfortable than generally assumed. This paper interrogates a survey of 147 residents of pre-1940 heritage buildings in Cumbria, UK, to examine residents’ comfort perceptions. This survey is compared with secondary data from other UK studies on residential comfort. Results are elucidated with more detailed responses from interviews with 16 heritage households. Three key findings were made. First, heritage buildings are perceived to have broadly comparable thermal performance to more modern UK buildings by their residents. Second, the survey results and interviews found that residents perceive their buildings to perform particularly well in summer, keeping comfortably cool in hot weather. In contrast, the literature suggests that newer homes often appear to suffer from overheating. Third, although many Cumbrian residents found their buildings draughty, a large percentage would not prefer less ventilation, with case study participants citing their enjoyment of fresh air. These results are highly relevant for successful approaches to renovation and the implementation of the European Renovation Wave. Renovations are often promoted to heritage residents for their comfort improvement potential. However, if buildings are already perceived as broadly comfortable this may not be a key driver. Alternative motivations may therefore need to be identified to drive renovation uptake. The findings also highlight the importance of maintaining positive aspects such as good summer performance
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A Transdisciplinary Engineering and Systems Approach for Decarbonizing UK Home Heating
At present, only around 10% of the heat pumps required to reach our critical 2050 climate goals are being installed in the UK. The government has set ambitious targets to phase out gas boilers by 2035, replacing them with heat pumps. This paper argues that instead of viewing the low carbon heating transition as a simple techno-economic issue, solved by a technology swap, we need a transdisciplinary systems approach to address this complex socio-technical challenge. Drawing on previous research and the literature we identify the current level of heat pump uptake and consider some of the barriers to the low carbon heating transition including technical aspects, installers skill shortages, financial barriers and informational challenges. We find that these barriers are mostly addressed in silos without considering the interrelationship between different aspects. Heat pumps should be considered in the context of a whole house approach to retrofit and barriers need to be overcome to make the technology more attractive to households. In this paper we call for a systemic, transdisciplinary approach to the low carbon heating transition to accelerate uptake: combining an understanding of social, engineering and policy perspectives. Key to this are systems-based methods and transdisciplinary approaches that enable engineering and engineers to be part of the solution. We present the benefits of this approach and suggest some principles for further research
Retrofit information challenges and potential solutions: Perspectives of households, retrofit professionals and local policy makers in the United Kingdom
Rapidly scaling up energy retrofit for existing buildings is critical to help meet climate targets. Information is frequently identified as a key barrier to residential retrofit. This paper explores the role of information sharing in accelerating retrofit market transformation, through interviews and photo elicitation with homeowners (N = 9) and two workshops with stakeholders (N = 33) in a local authority retrofit project in Gloucestershire (UK). Findings are thematically analysed and suggestions for future local and national policy action are identified. The research finds that even for engaged, knowledgeable homeowners, accessing appropriate information is still a significant retrofit barrier. Two themes around the nature of information and information delivery are identified and key issues include information overload, a lack of context-specific information and in-person engagement, and a need for trustworthy, local information sources. Local authorities have potential to act as trusted intermediaries for structured, relevant retrofit information but require support from national governments to increase capacity and resources at local levels. National governments also have a critical role in providing clear and consistent messaging and leadership on the importance and benefits of retrofit. Policies around financial incentives are not sufficient alone and must be accompanied by strategies to overcome informational and other barriers if retrofit is to be accelerated in this decisive decade for climate action
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Reducing carbon from heritage buildings: the importance of residents’ views, values and behaviours
Significant energy and carbon originate in the existing built environment and retrofit is therefore a key carbon reduction strategy. However heritage buildings -comprising around 20% of UK buildings- are challenging to retrofit appropriately due to their historical values and traditional construction. Retrofit carbon savings are dependent on current energy use which is strongly influenced by residents’ behaviours, and retrofit decisions for domestic heritage are generally the responsibility of homeowners. Therefore both residents’ views and behaviours are important for effective retrofit strategies. However behaviours are rarely considered in standard energy models and residents’ views are often overlooked in heritage retrofit policy. This paper analyses a survey of the views, values and behaviours of 147 residents of pre- 1940 buildings. The majority are found to strongly value their homes’ heritage and mainly view exterior building alterations negatively. However residents’ heritage values and acceptable retrofits, frequently differ from those of experts and policy makers. Residents report actively engaging in several positive energy behaviours and many have already undertaken common carbon saving measures. These findings imply that, for effective carbon reduction from heritage buildings, policy and legislation needs to extend beyond current definitions of ‘heritage’ and acknowledge residents’ complex values, motivations and energy behaviours
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