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Retrofit insights: perspectives for an emerging industry
Posted on: 14 December 2012
By: mackene
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Filed under: News
Between May 2011 and July 2012, the UCL Energy Institute (UCL-Energy), working in partnership with the Institute for Sustainability, undertook a post-occupancy evaluation study on a sample of the projects funded by the Technology Strategy Board’s Retrofit for the Future (Rt4F) programme in London. The core aim of the programme was to reduce the carbon emissions of existing homes by a minimum of 80% while providing affordable warmth for the occupants. The intention of this report is to use learning and insights from this analysis to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry to prepare for emerging business opportunities in retrofit.
Based on a series of interviews and feedback sessions with project teams, the Retrofit project team perspectives summary guides identify lessons learned during projects covering: These include:
mechanical and electrical systems integration
The Occupant-centred retrofit: engagement and communication guide summarises the findings from the post occupancy evaluation interviews with retrofit occupants. Detailed analyses will also be made available on the Institute’s website. A separate guide, Best practice guidance for successful SME engagement, also released by the Institute for Sustainability and Action Sustainability, in association with Lend Lease, provides best practice guidance for large organisations looking to diversify their supply chain by engaging with SMEs.
Finally, the Institute’s updated Buildings opportunities for business: Low carbon domestic retrofit guides, reflecting the latest developments on Government incentive schemes including the Green Deal, are also being made available here. The guides, written by leading academic and industry experts, provide practical and commercially focused advice and best practice to both trades and professions.
Invest in Innovation Refurb webinar. 19 October 2012
Posted on: 14 November 2012
By: mackene
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The Invest in Innovative Refurb programme will introduce new, energy efficient, technologies and processes to the refurbishment of non domestic buildings, with the aim of reducing energy use in the existing building stock. The Government is to fund a £10 million, three-year, competition that will show how innovative technologies and processes can be used to make significant energy savings in non domestic buildings such as schools, shops, offices and hotels. Presentations are available online.
Refurbishing the nation: gathering the evidence
Posted on: 9 November 2012
By: mackene
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This report looks at how the National Refurbishment Centre is working with refurbishment data to help industry find the solutions for a mass delivery of retrofit. It also provides an overview of the UK’s refurbishment landscape, including an overview of refurbishment-related policy and regulation in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Videos on facilities management and low carbon refurb
Posted on: 1 November 2012
By: mackene
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The Business Channel.tv provides directors and senior executives in the public and private sectors with documentary programmes that not only go to the heart of how businesses can grow strategically, but through the power of film provide expert advice to help in the planning and specification of the right business plans and products. The Business Channel focuses on the business challenges that matter today.
Facilities management: The business case
Within the economy, the FM industry has quietly turned itself into a major creator of value and jobs and by some estimates it is worth £120bn a year and is still growing. In our programmes we will be bringing our audience up to speed with the value that FM can create and how it can free up organisations to focus on their core strengths. We will define how FM encompasses the utilities that make a building work, such as energy and security, and the services that are needed to support a workforce. Taken as a whole we will look at the impact that FM can make and how your services or products can make a difference.
The low carbon refurb: The retrofit plan
This series of programmes is to provide a master class of expertise to help construction and building engineering organisations and CIBSE members refurbish and retrofit offices, plants, hotels, leisure and shopping centres, hospitals and schools with low carbon technologies and products. Contributors include CIBSE, the Carbon Trust and the UK Green Building Council.
High rise hope: The social implications of energy efficiency retrofit in large multi-storey tower blocks
Posted on: 26 October 2012
By: mackene
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This document is a report to Rockwool, who funded this study into the social effects of energy efficiency measures in large multi-dwelling occupancies, using the Edward Woods Estate in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham as a case study. Rockwool is the insulation provider to the £16.13 million low carbon refurbishment of the estate, working alongside ECD Architects, and The Breyer Group (the main contractor). The study was carried out by the LSE Housing and communities is a research and consultancy group within the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics and Political Science led by Professor Anne Power.
Better Buildings Partnership Case Studies
Posted on: 10 October 2012
By: mackene
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Case studies from Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) members, including British Land, GE Capital Real Estate, Grosvenor, Land Securities, Legal & General Property and Quintain Estates & Development demonstrate the significant savings, both financial and carbon, that can be achieved. They provide practical examples of how companies can reduce energy and water use, improve waste management and develop effective landlord tenant partnerships. Topics covered include: single building retrofit; single building refurbishment; fit-out using Ska Rating; green building management; sustainable design and travel; and renewable energy.
Responsible retrofit of traditional buildings
Posted on: 4 October 2012
By: mackene
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This report looks into key aspects of the responsible retrofit of traditional buildings on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). This work was undertaken by the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA) which represents most of the main historic building groups in the UK as well as mainstream construction-related organisations. The work was carried out following concerns raised with regard to the application of certain retrofit measures, including those incorporated into the Green Deal, in respect of the UK’s traditional building stock.
The report begins by identifying existing national and international research and guidance work of relevance to the subject of the retrofitting of traditional buildings and recognises significant gaps in this knowledge base. It also considers a series of diverse documents that influence retrofitting practices grouped under the term Implicit Guidance and reveals short comings in these texts and their methods. A discussion then follows which draws out the consequences of this lack of good quality research and guidance in all its forms with regard to a variety of pertinent issues related to energy saving refurbishment and the performance and value of traditional buildings. The report concludes with a ‘Way Forward’ and makes suggestions as to how uncertainties within this field can be managed in order to ensure that traditional buildings can contribute to significantly reducing energy demand in the UK without placing these buildings or their occupants at undue risk. Please note this report contains an extensive bibliography.
Retrofitting district heating systems: Creating replicable retrofit models in Hackbridge
Posted on: 20 July 2012
By: mackene
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District heating networks are being planned across the country in most instances these will only supply new buildings. This study investigated whether connecting our existing buildings to these networks would be a better route to carbon saving than extensive energy efficiency retrofitting. The study is based on connecting district heating to flats, but the approach can be applied to other building types. The study found that district heating (using a variety of heat sources) achieved considerably more carbon emission savings than the full traditional retrofit option (whereby a building’s energy efficiency is improved by improving the building fabric and installing energy efficient or renewable sources of heat and electricity in the building itself) and at a lower cost. Unlike the district heating approach, however, traditional retrofit tackles other issues such as fuel poverty and thermal comfort. These were important considerations for the residents surveyed who, whilst in favour of both approaches, would prioritise the retrofit.
Investigation into overheating in homes: Literature review
Posted on: 20 July 2012
By: mackene
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This literature review focuses on three main areas: whether overheating is occurring in new dwellings, in existing dwellings and whether or not retrofitting/refurbishing existing dwellings is likely to increase the risk of overheating. The review has been carried out on behalf of Government by a consortium led by AECOM, and supported by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London. A second output from this work is an Analysis of Gaps and Recommendations report identifying the main gaps in the literature, and areas where further work might be of most value.
DVDs on sustainable building design and refurbishment
Posted on: 25 June 2012
By: mackene
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CIC Start Online aims to embed sustainable building design and refurbishment into practice. Following the success of its first two conferences, CIC Start Online has issued DVD packs of these events for purchase. The DVDs are professionally produced, printed and packaged, with digitally remastered presentation slides for clarity, and good quality audio. The DVDs are playable in any DVD player, or using the DVD drive in your computer. The conferences in question are: Build tight, ventilate right: Air quality in housing and The Green Deal and sustainable refurbishment of traditional buildings.
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