Refurbishing the Nation - Gathering the evidence

7/28/2019 Refurbishing the Nation - Gathering the evidence

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Refurbishing the NaonGathering the evidence


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The Naonal Refurbishment Centre is a jointiniave between BRE, the Energy Saving Trust,

and partners to provide evidence and knowledge

that will support the mass delivery of green

refurbishment.

Naonal Refurbishment Centre, September 2012

The Naonal Refurbishment Centre

BRE, Bucknalls Lane

Waord, Herts

WD25 9XX

www.rethinkingrefurbishment.com


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The Naonal Refurbishment Centre would like to thank all those who took part in the UK-wide Rethinking Refurbishment

workshops and whose views are presented in this report. The Naonal Refurbishment Centre would also like to thank its

partners for their connued support and direcon, without which it would not be possible to deliver data, knowledge and

insight to industry and government.

Acknowledgements

Naonal Refurbishment Centre Partners


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Page

03 Foreword

04 Execuve summary

06 Where we are now

13 Around the UK

14 England

16 Wales

18 Scotland

19 Northern Ireland

21 The workshops

27 The Naonal Refurbishment Centre

31 Appendix - full workshop feedback

Contents


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ForewordOver the past two years the Naonal Refurbishment

Centre led a series of workshops across England, Wales,

Scotland and Northern Ireland to nd out what the

sector thinks are the main barriers and opportunies to

delivering sustainable refurbishment on a mass scale.

Much has happened during this me. Refurbishment has

become an increasingly important sector for the con-

strucon industry and has demonstrated its resilience in

an exceponally tough economic climate. At the same

me policy makers and industry stakeholders recognise

the crical role that green refurbishment has to play in

meeng the UKs low-carbon commitments. Put simply,

if the countrys exisng buildings cannot be made more

energy-ecient it is unlikely that the UK will reduce CO2

emissions by 80% by 2050 a commitment enshrined in

the Climate Change Act.

This is why, at the me of wring, the government is

developing the Green Deal nance package for con-

sumers, having already launched the Feed-in Tari and

Renewable Heat Incenve. It is also why new energy-

ecient and low carbon innovaons are being rolled out

and more colleges are starng to oer specialist retrotcourses for installers. At the same me more of the UKs

universies are researching issues related to building

refurbishment than perhaps at any me in the past.

Yet there are sll gaps in what we know about which

soluons work best; gaps in knowledge that will make

delivery of refurbishment on mass-scale more dicult.

Since the rst workshops were carried out in England in

2010, the Naonal Refurbishment Centre has become a

key evidence hub for both industry and government to

support a naonwide refurbishment programme. In the

past two years major product suppliers, retailers, hous-

ing associaons, contractors, educaon providers and

stakeholder organisaons have become partners. The

Naonal Refurbishment Centre has gathered together

data from over 500 refurbishment exemplars to begin

to truly understand the cost and eecveness of dier-

ent energy-eciency measures for dierent house and

building types. This evidence has already been used by

government in developing the Green Deal, for example.

The Naonal Refurbishment Centres inaugural report

Rethinking Refurbishment Developing a NaonalProgramme, set out to understand industry atudes

towards refurbishment and retrot in England. This

report widens that understanding with feedback from

stakeholders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,

while providing valuable informaon about the dierent

policies and regulaons within each of the devolved na-

ons. It also summarises the characteriscs of the UKs

domesc and non-domesc market and includes some

interesng and useful analysis of the data collected from

the refurbishment exemplars so far.

The aim of this report, therefore, is not only to explain

the goals and achievements of the Naonal Refurbish-ment Centre but to provide a concise overview of the

refurbishment landscape across the UK. I therefore hope

this report will be a useful resource to the sector as well

encouraging more organisaons to work with us as we

seek to address the challenges and maximise the oppor-

tunies that the refurbishment of the UK building stock

provides.

Chris Ward-Brown

Chairman, Naonal Refurbishment Centre


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that refurbishment and retrot has to play whether

it be simply insulang a lo or more complicated eco-upgrades such as an air-source-heat-pump. Likewise,

industry stakeholders have for a number of years urged

for a more concerted approach towards mass delivery of

green refurbishment. Nevertheless, an eecve delivery

remains elusive, with the lack of hard data about the

most eecve energy-eciency methods in terms of

CO2

and energy bill savings, ease of installaon, cost and

maintenance.

Creang an evidence hub

In response, BRE and the Energy Saving Trust joined forces

with partners to create the Naonal Refurbishment Centre

(NRC). Since 2010, the it has been compiling evidence

from over 500 refurbishment exemplars, believed to be

the largest data-set of its kind in the UK. As an evidence

hub, the Naonal Refurbishment Centre has already

provided the Department of Environment and Climate

Change with data from its refurbishment exemplars to

support the development of the Green Deal nancialmechanism. It has also developed a publicly accessible

online database called the Refurbishment Portal.

By gathering data and analysing refurbishment measures,

the NRC is able to inform iniaves geared towards

carbon reducon across the sector. By having a clear

understanding based on hundreds of exemplars, it is able

to work with its partners to idenfy eciencies in the

supply chain, eecve soluons, and inform into the skills

arena on best pracce and buildability for the exisng

Execuve summaryBuildings account for around 44% of the UKs enre

greenhouse gas emissions, with 26% coming from homes.

At the same, me fuel poverty is increasing on the back

of rising fuel costs. In order to meet the 80% carbon

reducon target for 2050 set out in the legally-binding

Climate Change Act (2008) and to reduce fuel bills, the

UK must make its buildings more sustainable and energy

ecient.

The challenge is great. In the UK we have some of the

oldest building stock in Europe, most of which will sll be

in use by 2050. It is esmated, for example, that across the

UK, only 1% of the housing stock meets modern thermal

eciency levels. Poor insulaon means higher fuel bills,

which pose a threat to the nances of most households

across the UK, many of which are in fuel poverty.

Building enough new low carbon homes to solve the

emissions challenge is clearly an unrealisc proposion;

the answer is to make our exisng buildings perform

beer through sustainable refurbishment. However, to

meet government targets refurbishment needs to take

place on a massive scale. The government esmates that

5,000 homes will need to be refurbished per day, in orderto meet its 2050 carbon reducon target. Equally, this

presents massive employment opportunies, with the

Energy Saving Trust esmang that more than 100,000

insulaon jobs could be created.

Iniaves such as the Green Deal nance package,

Feed-in Taris and the Renewable Heat Incenve show

that government clearly understands the vital role

Some challenges More than 13,000 homes per week will need

to be refurbished if we are to meet 2050targets

Buildings (domesc and non-domesc)

produce 44% of the UKs CO2

emissions

39% of the exisng housing stock was built

before 1945

4 million households are currently in fuel

poverty and this gure is rising.


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stock. And by focusing on area-based intervenons it can

guide a programme of works across the UK, with an eyeon achieving long and medium term carbon reducon

targets.

Understanding the eecveness of refurbishment

soluons is the focus of the NRC but so too is the skills

agenda, for the right balance needs to be achieved

between o-site manufacture, product innovaon and

skilled on-site trades to maximise the savings from

products and services.

The NRC also raises awareness about refurbishment and

regularly speaks at workshops, seminars and conferences.

It will connue this role of supporng both government,and industry in the development of a praccal, evidence-

based approach to delivering green refurbishment on a

naonwide scale, with a parcular emphasis of idenfying

gaps in current soluons and skills.

What industry wants

Collaboraon and knowledge sharing is key to such an

iniave, which is why a series of workshops was carried

out in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,

to understand the challenges and opportunies of those

directly involved in refurbishment.

These workshops took place over an extended period

between 2010 and 2011. The views expressed, while

broadly similar, reect the introducon of government

iniaves during 2011 and 2012 and conveyed certain

local consideraons. For example, both Welsh and Scosh

workshop parcipants highlighted issues related to rural

communies and building types; in Scotland there was a

parcular problem of some inappropriate house designs

for local weather. In Northern Ireland, parcipants were

parcularly keen for more leadership and joined-up

thinking from government.

Workshop parcipants strongly agreed that a more

joined-up approach was urgently needed, with beer

co-ordinaon and collaboraon. They wanted a one-stop

shop of reliable, imparal informaon and guidance,

built on exisng tools, knowledge and best pracce on a

variety of subjects from technical know-how to potenal

sources of nance. They also wanted a single voice that

could bring organisaons together, inform government

thinking and shape the refurbishment agenda.

In addion, parcipants wanted the following:

Development of refurbishment standards, including arefurbishment equivalent of the Code for Sustainable

Homes.

Beer skill levels parcularly for smaller building

contractors and local professionals, creang links

with training providers all levels.

Soluons based on local building-types

and materials, with a reliance on local contractors to

deliver work wherever possible.

Promoon of praccal and achievable soluons,

such as cavity wall insulaon; easy-to-use, low-tech

soluons; and both project-by-project as well as

whole house approach to refurbishment.

Development of improved funding streams and

nancial incenves to improve the business case for

manufacturers and suppliers and for consumers to

invest in new technology.

Improve communicaon and engagement

of the supply chain especially small building

contractors and consumers regarding the benets

of green refurbishment.

Our mission

The NRC aims to support a joined-up approachbacked up by robust performance data,

strengthened by collaborave praccal problem-

solving. Bringing together the widest range

of partners will allow the sector to shape the

agenda, develop best pracce and through

partner acvity, engage consumers and the small

building contractors who are the backbone of UK

refurbishment.


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Where we are now

The UK building sector currently faces wide-ranging

challenges, including the target to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions by 80% by 2050[1]. This secon introduces those

challenges but also opportunies.

The challenges

It is widely agreed that our changing climate poses a great

threat to the planet. If greenhouse gas emissions connue

to grow at the present rate, by 2050 CO2

levels in the

atmosphere are likely to be twice pre-industrial levels,

resulng in high temperature increases. A temperature

increase beyond 2C above pre-industrial levels is

regarded as a pping point beyond which severe rises intemperature become irreversible [2].

The eects of climate change are already being felt in

the UK. According to the Met Oce, the country has

experienced nine of the 10 warmest years on record

since 1990. Sea levels have risen 10cm since 1900, and

total summer rainfall has decreased in most parts of the

country[3].

Reducing CO2

by 80%

In 2008, the UK passed the Climate Change Act to

try and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions throughlegislave measures. Under this long-term, legally-binding

framework, the UK is commied to an 80% reducon in

CO2

emissions by 2050 against 1990 levels, and a 30%

reducon by 2020.

The Act places a series of caps on total UK emissions,

which from 2013 will come under the EU Emissions

Trading Scheme and other internaonal schemes. Under

these carbon budgets, set over successive ve-year

periods, every tonne of greenhouse gas emied between

now and 2050 will count. Where emissions rise in one

sector, the country will have to achieve corresponding falls

in another.

The trouble with our buildings

In the UK, buildings are responsible for 44% of CO2

emissions, with 26% being produced by around 26 million

homes and 18% by two million non-residenal buildings [4].

Houses alone produced 153 MtCO2in 2006,[5] helping

to bring about the climac and weather changes that

adversely impact buildings, such as oods from increased


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rainfall and subsidence from drought condions. Clearlythe countrys buildings must perform beer.

This is not helped by the UK having some of the oldest

buildings in Europe. Take our houses, 21% of which

according to the latest BRE research[6] were built before

1919 and the advent of cavity walls (Figure 1). Oen

described as hard-to-treat, these solid-wall houses are

unable to benet from relavely simple energy-eciency

Fig. 1 UK housing stock. Almost 60% of housing in England,

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were built before 1964

(Source: unpublished BRE research).

Standards in social housing

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have standards to ensure that their social houses are warm,

weather ght and have modern facilies. In England and Northern Ireland, for example, the Decent Homes Standard

is linked to environmental health regulaons under which social homes should be free of Category 1 (serious) hazards,

which broadly correlates with having an energy-eciency standard of less than SAP35. Decent homes also need to

meet a thermal comfort criterion: they should be ed with programmable heang systems, and to have minimum

levels of lo insulaon and/or cavity wall insulaon.

Scotland and Wales equivalent are the Scosh Housing Quality Standard and Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

Although these standards apply to social housing, councils may work to ensure private properes meet the standards.

measures like cavity-wall insulaon. Generally speaking,

the energy performance of many older buildings falls

below that of newly-constructed ones. For example, in its

Home Economics report, the Energy Saving Trust shows

that a pre-1919 electrically heated terraced house with

poor energy-eciency measures will leak 14.2 tonnes of

CO2

annually. Yet while poor-performing pre-1919 homes

of this sort emit the most CO2

they make up a relavely

small fracon of the overall stock; in terms of sheer of

numbers, the greatest challenge we face therefore comes

from those houses built later in the tweneth century[7].

Poor quality and thermally inecient buildings are also

likely to suer most from cold and dampness. While each

of the devolved naons has a housing quality standard(see panel), this only covers local authority and registered

social landlord dwellings. With social housing in decline

across the UK (in England local authority-owned homes

dropped from 2.81 million in 2001 to 1.73 million in

2011[8]) millions of privately rented and owner-occupier

households could be suering from cold and damp

condions. The poor quality of our buildings is a real

problem when we consider that at least 75% of exisng

buildings will sll be in use in 2050[7].

Cold, damp homes have a nancial as well as a human

cost. Using data from the 2007 English Housing CondionSurvey and the governments Housing Health and Safety

Rang System, BRE esmated that the poorest housing in

England alone could be cosng the NHS more than 600

million per year to treat the health problems of occupants;

the overall cost to society could be as much as 1.5 billion

annually in lost earnings[9].

Pre-1919:

21%

1919-44

16%

1945-65

20%

Post-64

43%


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Fuel poverty

Climate change may be the greatest environmentalchallenge the world faces, but for millions of UK

households, simply being able to heat their homes

properly is the most immediate problem. The good news

is that fuel poverty has declined slightly. According to

government gures released in May 2012, across the

UK fuel poverty fell from 5.5 million households in 2009

to 4.75 million in 2010. This was partly due to energy-

eciency improvements, parcularly the installaon of

condensing boilers. There was a similar drop in vulnerable

households (those with elderly, children or somebody who

is disabled or long term sick residents)[10].

However, an upward pressure on energy prices due to

increased worldwide demand, has led to increases in fuel

bills, which are unlikely to drop signicantly. According to

government gures published in June 2012, for example,

the overall prices paid for all fuel and light increased by

10.9% between the rst quarters of 2011 and 2012[11]. This

poses a real threat to recent improvements in fuel poverty

gures.

Make good our exisng buildings

Given the low rates of new house building in recent

years and issues around planning, construcng our way

towards the 80% carbon reducon target is unrealisc.

Improving the buildings we have will be the most eecve

way to reduce carbon and improve comfort on a large

scale. Indeed, the Commiee on Climate Change (CCC),

which was set up in 2008 as part of the Climate Change

Act, recognised the importance of refurbishment in

its rst report to government[12] when it advised that

the aggregate reducon of emissions from exisng

buildings far exceeded those of new buildings. In its 2009

publicaon Knock it down or do it up, BRE also described

the considerable green house gas emissions and waste

created from the demolion of buildings and tradional

construcon methods. It also set out the arguments ofEnglish Heritage and CABE who advocate the importance

of old buildings in place-making[13].

However, the challenge of green refurbishment (which

includes basic measures, such as lo insulaon, and

more complicated ones such as solid wall insulaon and

renewable heat generaon) cannot be over-esmated.

The government esmates that 5,000 homes will need to

be refurbished per day, in order to meet the governments

2050 targets. Yet so far the pace of refurbishment remains

slow. For example,while home insulaon rates broadly

increased in 2011-2012 (Figure 2) they will need to beramped up signicantly to align with the CCCs target

trajectory set out in its third progress report[14], which

quotes gures from the Department of Energy and

Climate Change ( Figures 3 and 4).

Room-by-room versus a whole-building approach

The expense and complexity of refurbishing whole

buildings is the primary reason that individuals and

business do not carry out energy-eciency measures.

For example, the Energy Saving Trust found that more

than 60% of UK householders cited hassle and lack of

knowledge as the main reasons for not implemenngenergy-saving measures[15]. Nevertheless, 85% of

householders were also willing to stretch their normal

home improvement budgets by up to 10% to include

energy-eciency measures. With four million households

planning or ancipang a major refurbishment, such

as the renovaon of a kitchen or bathroom, one way

to increase consumer engagement is to encourage

householders to add energy-eciency measures to these

trigger points.

Crics of the room-by-room approach might argue that

carrying out refurbishment projects in one hit beer

maximises economies of scale and actually reduces longer-

Dening a fuel-poor householdThe methodology for dening fuel poverty is set

by each of the devolved naons, though they

are broadly the same. A household that needs

to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to

maintain an adequate level of warmth is generally

dened as being fuel poor.

Refurb or retrot?By refurbishment, the Naonal RefurbishmentCentre means mulple energy-eciency measures

fabric, heang and renewable technologies

applied sequenally or as part of a whole house

soluon. Retrot is the installaon of a specic

measure, such as xing photovoltaic panels to a

factory roof or xing external solid-wall insulaon

to the front of a terraced house.


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Fig. 2 Esmates of home insulaon levels in the UK (Reproduced from Esmates of home insulaon levels in Great Britain: January

2012, DECC Stascal Release, March 2012).

Apr

2007

Apr

2008

Apr

2009

Apr

2010

Jan

2011

Apr

2011

Jul

2011

Oct

2011

Jan

2012

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

Apr

2008

Apr

2009

Apr

2010

Jan

2011

Apr

2011

Jul

2011

Oct

2011

Jan

2012

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Fig. 3 The Climate Change

Commiees projecons for

cavity wall insulaon cumulave

installaons (2008-2015)

(Source: Climate Change Commiee Meeng

Carbon Budgets ensuring a low-carbon

recovery, p.90)2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

CCC Indicator trajectory

Actual trajectory

Trajectory if 2010 installaon

rates connues

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

CCC Indicator trajectory

2008

2009

2010

2022

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Actual trajectory

Trajectory if 2010 installaon

rates connues

Fig. 3 The Climate Change

Commiees projecons for solid wall

insulaon cumulave installaons

(2008-2015)

(Source: Climate Change Commiee Meeng

Carbon Budgets ensuring a low-carbon

recovery, p.90)

Cavity wall insulaon Lo insulaon >125mm Solid wall insulaon


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term disrupon caused by repeated visits from the builder.

However, if the 2050 target is to be met, all approacheswill need to be considered and implemented, whether it

be a room-by-room, whole-house, street-by-street or even

city-by-city approach.

Economic opportunies

The challenges are great but there are also opportunies.

Domesc and non-domesc refurbishment was worth

35.6 million or a third of total construcon output in

2011[16] and with around 23 million homes needing

refurbishment between now and 2050, the retrot

programme could be worth 280 billion to the UK

economy in that period.

The Energy Saving Trusts Home Economics report of 2011esmated that more than 100,000 jobs could be created

to insulate 5.7 million empty cavity walls and 12.8 million

los that need more insulaon; with boiler replacement,

the total number of jobs created rises to 140,500. That

includes not only installer jobs, but also manufacturing

and assembly, transport and administraon. For full-scale

refurbishments (including solid-wall insulaon, heang

controls, draught-proong, triple-glazing and renewable) a

total of 4.7 million jobs could be supported[17].

Recognising the potenal, government has developed the

Green Deal nancial mechanism to kick-start the greenrefurbishment market, which will enable providers to oer

consumers up-front loans for refurbishment and retrot

measures, which can be paid through energy bills. As

part of this the government is comming funds for 1,000

Green Deal apprences.

Fabric-rst approachRenewable energy sources should always come

second to insulang a building and making it

airght. Without these measures, occupiers wont

receive the benets from their renewable energy

and micro-generaon installaons.


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Non-domesc buildings

As has already been highlighted, non-domesc buildings,account for 17% of the countrys carbon emissions. In

its report Building the Future, Today, the Carbon Trust

reported that in 2005 two-thirds of emissions from non-

domesc buildings come from industrial, retail, leisure and

hospitality buildings and commercial oces (Figure 5)

Nearly half of emissions currently come from heang;

just under a quarter from lighng and the remainder split

between cooling and everything else (Figure 6).

Fig. 5 Breakdown of non-domesc emissions by sector,

(Reproduced from the Carbon Trusts Building the Future Today

report).

Fig.5 CO2

emissions by end use (Reproduced from the Carbon

Trusts Building the Future Today report).

UK non-domesc buildings: 18% of 560MtCO2

emied in in 2005

9%

14%

23%

18%

15%

4%

4%

4%

7%

3%

3%

1%1%

Industrial

Retail

Hotels, inns &

restaurants

Commercial

oces

Schools

FE & HE

educaon

Govt.

estates

Sports

Public

oces

Heritage &

entertainment

HealthcareTransport

Miscellaneous

100% = 106MtCO2

(2005)

46%Heang

23%

Lighng

11%Cooling &

venlaon

8%Catering

4%3% 4%Hot water

Oce equipmentOther

More than three-quarters of non-domesc buildings were

built before 1985, with nearly a third built before 1939;by 2050, 32% of these will sll be standing. However, the

Carbon Trust believes that non-domesc buildings present

a parcularly good opportunity to cost-eecvely reduce

the UKs overall carbon emissions. It believes that a 35%

CO2

reducon could be made by 2020 against 2005 levels

with a net benet to the UK of at least 4 billion. It also

esmates that up to 75% of carbon could be cut by 2050

at no net cost, using measures that exist today[18].

EU Direcves

The Energy Performance Direcve (EPBD)

The EPBD, which covers new and exisng buildings,

governs the implementaon of Energy Performance

Cercates, Display Energy Cercates and energy

eciency requirements within UK Building Regulaons.

Originally approved in 2002, the EPBD is now being

replaced by a recast EPBD, which strengthens energy

requirements for new buildings. There are currently no

specic targets set for refurbishment, though there is

an expectaon that member states base requirements

around their most energy-ecient public buildings.

The Energy-Eciency Direcve (EED)

The proposed EED sought to impose legally-binding

energy-eciency targets of 20 % by 2020 across

Europe, providing a legal framework for the EUs 2020

Vision. However, a compromise EED, was acceptedby the European Council in June 2012, under which

member states can set their own targets. Furthermore,

obligatory energy-eciency targets for public buildings

may now only apply to central government buildings.

However, member states must present an energy

eciency acon plan every three years and develop

roadmaps for refurbishing buildings.


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Towards a mass-refurbishment drive

Since the publicaon of Rethinking Refurbishment.Developing a Naonal Programme in October 2010,

sustainable refurbishment and retrot has risen rmly up

the agenda of both government and industry.

The development of the Green Deal, launched in October

2012, has provided industry with a focus but a praccal

naonwide delivery programme for retrong buildings

sll remains elusive. A major hurdle is sll the lack

of knowledge about the performance of exisng and

emerging green refurbishment and retrot soluons as

they are used in dierent building types.

To that end, the Naonal Refurbishment Centre has been

collecng the data from 500 refurbishment demonstraon

projects to analyse such things as cost eecveness and

possible gaps in skills.

Understanding the praccal issues that those involved

with refurbishment actually face is another strand of

evidence that will help idenfy routes towards mass

refurbishment. The Naonal Refurbishment Centre has

therefore sought the views of professionals in a series

of workshops. The following secon examines what

stakeholders from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern

Ireland believe are the main barriers and opportuniesseng it in the context of the regulatory and legislave

landscape.


15/5213

Around the UK

An overview of the regulaons and government iniaves in

each of the devolved naons and industry atudes across the

UK.


16/5214

England

Age of Englands housing stock (Source: English Housing

Survey 2009-10 Household Report, Communies and Local

Government, July 2011).

English housing at a glance

Households: 21.5 million (2009)j

Average SAP rang: 55 (2009)j

Households in fuel poverty: 3.5 million (2010k

Homes with cavity wall and lo insulaon:

14.2% (Q16, 2012)l

j

English Housing Survey 2009-10, DCLG, Feb 2011k

Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Stascs 2012, DECC, 2012l

CERT Summary Report Q16 by English Regions, Scotland, Wales, Energy Saving Trust

Regulations and Standards

Building Regulaons Part L (England & Wales)

Part L of the regulaons covers energy eciency

in domesc and non-domesc buildings. It is the

governments primary tool for driving a buildings

environmental performance standards in England.

The latest revisions, which came into force in October

2010, require a 25% reducon in CO2

emissions against

2006 regulaons rising to 44% in 2013, with a zero carbon

target for 2016. SAP sets emissions target, which is related

to size and form of the home.

Under Part L1B (Exisng buildings) only signicant

improvements need be applied to such things as

extensions, installaon of double glazing or ng of

conservatories. There are also consequenal improvement

requirements that aect exisng homes for example,

upgrading the energy eciency of the whole of an internal

wall when work is planned to be undertaken on more

than 25% of that wall. For certain types of major works

with oor areas over 1,000m2, where the work has the

potenal to increase energy intensity, such as extending

the building, addional measures are needed to make the

exisng building more energy ecient.

Energy Performance Cercate (EPC)

Homeowners are required to provide potenal buyers

and tenants with EPCs whenever a home is being sold or

rented. The EPC, using theorecal modelling based on

the performance potenal of a buildings design fabric,

gives the home an A (most ecient) to G (least ecient)

energy-eciency rang, standardised informaon

about running costs, and recommendaons for energy-

eciency and low-carbon improvements. EPCs are valid

for 10 years and should be provided alongside property

parculars. EPCs are produced by accredited domescenergy assessors, using a reduced-data version of the SAP

methodology.

Non Domesc Energy Performance Cercate (NDPC)

As with EPCs, NDPCs use an A-G rang system to show

how energy-ecient a commercial or public building is

and is calculated in the same way as an EPC.

1945-64:

20%

1919-44

17%1965-80:

21%

Pre-1919:

21%

1980-90:9%

Post-1990:

12%


17/52


18/5216

Feed-in Taris (FiTs)

Launched in April 2010 with an 867 million budget overfour years, the governments FiTs scheme encourages

consumers to invest in small-scale micro-generaon

technologies such as photovoltaic (PV) panels, by allowing

them to claim regular payments from energy suppliers

for generang and exporng surplus electricity back

into the naonal grid. However, an unexpected rise in

the installaon of solar PV, fuelled by a 45% drop in

installaon costs against 2009 levels, threatened the

budget. From August 2012, the standard generaon tari

for a solar PV (up to 4kW for a retrot project) dropped

from the original 41.3 pence per kW generated to 16

pence (EPC Band D or higher). Eligibility was also limited to

premises with a certain level of thermal eciency.

Renewable Heat Incenve (RHI)

The RHI scheme provides consumers with a nancial

incenve to install renewable heang technologies such

as solar thermal systems and heat-pumps by allowing

them to claim money back from energy suppliers for

every metered kW produced. It was introduced in 2012

for non-domesc users, with taris set at dierent rates

and spanning 20 years. For example, a large ground source

heat pump of 100kWth or above, will receive 3 pence

per kWth metered. The government has so far invested

15 million towards the Renewable Heat Premium to

help domesc consumers install solar thermal hot water

systems, heat pumps and biomass boilers. Payments range

from 300 to 1,250 depending on the technology. The

launch of the RHI for domesc households is expected for

the summer of 2013, following government consultaon.

Wales

Regulations and standards

Building Regulaons (Wales)

From 1 January, 2012 revisions to the current Building

Regulaons (England and Wales) and associated

procedures and guidance will be made by the Welsh

government, which is expected to issue its rst devolved

Weslsh housing at a glance


Average SAP rang: 61.9 (2009)j

Households in fuel poverty: 332,000 (2008)k


17.9% (Q16, 2012)l

jHousehold Esmates for Wales, 2010. Welsh Government, 2011

kLiving In Wales 2008, Welsh Government

lCERT Summary Report Q16 by English Regions, Scotland, Wales, Energy Saving Trust

Age of Wales housing stock (Source: Unpublished BRE

research, 2012).

PAYSAhead of the Green Deal, the government carried

out ve Pay As You Save (PAYS) pilot schemes to

understand householder movaon and take-up. A

total of 311 householders across England signed upto the pilot, with on average two to three energy

eciency measures installed in each household.

The average total value of each package ranged

from 4,194 to 13,217, with over 70% repaying

over 25 years. Double glazing was the most

popular measure, followed by solar PV. The Energy

Saving Trust, which managed the pilot schemes,

has published its ndings in the Home energy Pay

As You Save pilot reviewreport[19].

1945-64:

21%

1919-44

11%

Pre-1919:

30%Post-1964:

38%


19/5217

Building Regulaons in 2013. The government has

indicated that it will set a 55% improvement (over the2006 Building Regulaons) as the target for the rst

changes to the devolved regulaons.

The Welsh government is commied to the Zero Carbon

housing and the Assembly Government intends to

undertake a further review of Part L in 2014 to consider

the next steps towards zero carbon.

Energy cercates (EPCs and DECs)

Refer to the England secon for details about Energy

Performance Cercates (EPCs) and Display Energy

Cercates (DECs).

Welsh Housing Quality Standard

The Welsh Assembly Government has set a target that all

social housing in Wales should meet the Welsh Housing

Quality Standard (WHQS) by 2012. The WHQS sets a

minimum energy performance standard of SAP65 (in the

middle of Band D on an Energy Performance Cercate),

and also requires some minimum features in homes, such

as programmable heang controls.

Environmental Health Regulaon

Refer to the England secon for details.

Incentive programmes

The Green Deal, Energy Company Obligaon, Feed-in

Taris, and the Renewable Heat Incenve, apply to Wales.

Refer to the England secon for details.

The Arbed scheme

Arbed means save in Welsh and the scheme aims to

upgrade the energy eciency of exisng housing stock

in some of the most deprived parts of Wales. Phase 1,

which ended in March 2011, aimed to improve the energy

eciency in 6,000 homes. The welsh government is

comming 45 million for Phase 2 to improve the energy

eciency of a minimum of 4,800 exisng homes and

reduce a minimum of 11.6 KTCO2

(Kilo-tonnes of CO2) of

greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2015.

Nest

Nest is the Welsh fuel poverty scheme that oers advice,

full home energy assessments and home improvements

for the most energy inecient homes at no cost to the

occupant. The scheme is open to those receiving benets

and living in the hardest-to-heat homes. Nest can oer a

range of home improvements, including central heang

boilers and lo, cavity wall and solid wall insulaon.

Tackling Fuel Poverty in Wales

Wales introduced a naonal fuel poverty scheme

on 1 April, 2011. The scheme focuses on homes

that have an Energy Performance Cercate Band

F or G rang and householders who are eligible for

a range of means tested benets.


20/5218

The Scosh Housing Quality Standard

The Scosh Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), introduced

in 2004, is the principal measure of housing quality

in Scotland. It is the equivalent to the Decent Homes

Standard in England and Northern Ireland and the Welsh

Housing Quality Standard.

In order to pass this minimum standard, properes must

meet a set of ve broad housing criteria, which consist

of 55 elements that the property is measured against.

For social housing, there is a policy target for landlords to

bring their stock up to every element of the standard by

April 2015. Private sector landlords and owner-occupied

households are not subject to this target.

In June 2012, the Scosh government also published its

consultaon document, Developing an Energy Eciency

Standard for Social Housing. The dra standard builds

upon the SHQS and is part of Scotlands wider Sustainable

Housing Strategy. The aim is to set a challenging, yet

achievable rang, which both warm, low-carbon homes in

a nancially sustainable way.

Scosh housing at a glance


Average SAP rang: 61.9 (2011)j



15.2% (Q16, 2012)l

jEsmates of Households and Dwellings in Scotland, The Scosh Government 2011

kThe Scosh House Condion Survey, The Scosh Government, 2011

lCERT Summary Report Q16 by English Regions, Scotland, Wales, Energy Saving

Trust, 2012

Age of Scotlands housing stock (Source: Unpublished BRE

research, 2012).

1945-64:23%

1919-44

14%

Pre-1919:

19%

Post-1964:

44%

Scotland


Building Standards

Secon 6 of the Scosh Building Standards, which relates

to energy performance, came into force in 2009, with

amendments in 2010. For new homes, the standards

and guidance are intended to achieve an improvement

of around 30% reducon in carbon emissions against

previous standards (2007). It is expected that furtherrequirements will be introduced in 2013 and 2016.

The standards include a consequenal improvements

requirement. This applies when homeowners build an

extension to an energy inecient home and choose,

either to make energy saving improvements to the whole

house, or to build the extension using higher insulaon

standards.

A building owner may employ an Approved Cerer

of Design to ensure that their building meets the

requirements of Secon 6 (Energy) Scosh BuildingStandards. The status of Approved Cerer of Design is

only given to people who hold appropriate qualicaons

and have sucient experience to cerfy that the part of

the design process relevant to Secon 6 is compliant.




Cercates (DECs).


21/5219

Northern Ireland


Building Regulaons (Northern Ireland) 2006

The conservaon of fuel and power in dwellings

is contained in Part F1 of the Building Regulaons

(Northern Ireland), which was last revised in 2006.

As with Part L (England and Wales), the regulaons


The Green Deal, Energy Company Obligaon, Feed-inTaris, and the Renewable Heat Incenve, apply to

Scotland. Refer to the England secon for details.

The Home Insulaon SchemeThe Home Insulaon Scheme (HIS) is designed

to improve the energy eciency of houses in

specic areas of Scotland, selected on the basis of

deprivaon, housing stock, and levels of emissions.

HIS promotes and installs free or discounted

lo and cavity wall insulaon plus other energysaving measures. It is available to around 380,000

properes in 29 local authority areas.

NI housing at a glance

Households: 688,700 (2008)j

Average SAP rang: 57 (2009)j



65% (2001-2009)k

j2008 Based Household Projecons for Areas within Northern Ireland, Northern

Ireland Stascal Research Agency, August 2010k

Northern Ireland House Condion Survey 2009, Northern Ireland Housing

Execuve, 2010

Age of Northern Irelands housing stock (Source: Unpublished

BRE research, 2012).

1945-64:

17%

1919-44

10%

Post-1964:

60%

Pre-1919:

13%


22/5220

apply to consequenal work in exisng buildings and

major extensions. At the me of wring, consultaon

is underway for a further revision. It is expected that

Northern Ireland will adopt the 25% reducon of CO2

emissions included in the 2010 revisions to Part L (England

and Wales), which came into force in October 2012.




Cercates (DECs).

Decent Homes Standard

The Northern Ireland Housing Execuve is responsible forthe Decent Homes Standard, which sets the standards

for modern homes. In 2009/ 10 the Housing Execuve

invested 239 million on improvement programmes

and maintenance of public housing; improving private

sector homes through grant aid; promote good house

design standards; and improve energy eciency. Work

in 2010/11 includes 3,150 improvements and planned

maintenance work to 7,700 Housing Execuve homes.

Environmental Health Regulaon

Northern Ireland has so far not adopted the Housing

Health and Safety Rang System (HHSRS), which has

replaced the Fitness Standard in England. However, the

Housing Execuve sll measure the HHSRS using the

Housing Condion Survey (HCS) in order to compare data

with other naons. Surveys have been undertaken against

the 2001, 2006 and 2009 Northern Ireland HCS, with a

2011 HCS providing updated gures for Northern Ireland.


The Green New Deal

The Green Deal will not apply to Northern Ireland. Instead,

there is the Green New Deal Group is a coalion of 40organisaons and individuals from across the public,

private and third sectors, with a wide-ranging programme

to cut fossil-fuel consumpon and build a compeve

low-carbon economy. This includes the refurbishment

of around 137,000 homes and transforming the energy

performance of public buildings.

The Green New Deal was allocated 12 million in the

2011-15 Budget but is currently under review, including

a business proposal submied by the Green New Deal

Group. The Northern Ireland government is assessingit against other opons, such as an an extension to the

Warm Homes budget.

Northern Ireland Renewables Obligaon (NIRO)

NIRO is the main support mechanism for increasing the

level of electricity consumpon generated from renewable

energy sources. NIRO places an obligaon on electricity

suppliers to account each year for a nincreasing amount

of their sales from renewable sources or to pay a buy-out

fee that is proporonate to any shorall. Suppliers comply

with the NIRO by presenng Renewables Obligaon

Cercates (ROCs) which are issued to renewable

generators according to the level of output. The NIRO

operates in tandem with similar obligaons in the UK.

Renewable Heat Incenve (RHI)

In September 2011, the Department of Enterprise,Trade and Investment launched a public consultaonon the potenal introducon of the RHI in NorthernIreland. This consultaon sought views of stakeholderson the design and implementaon of the RHI as well ason other proposals for developing the renewable heatmarket. Among the proposals was that the RHI should beavailable to the domesc sector by October 2011, withinterim support available unl a longer term scheme isintroduced.

Warm Homes Scheme

This scheme is funded by Northern Irelands Department

for Social Development for those receiving benets,

homeowners and private landlord tenants. Measures

covered include cavity wall and lo insulaon. Warm

Homes Plus is for households with Economy 7, solid fuel

and boled gas/LPG.

NISEP

The Northern Ireland Sustainable EnergyProgramme (NISEP) is Northern Irelands supplier

obligaon, similar to the Community Energy

Saving Programme (CESP). NISEP promotes energy

eciency and sustainable energy supplies that

oer the best value for customers, especially those

who are vulnerable. Gas providers received funds

in 2010, with plans to include organisaons other

than licensed energy suppliers in the bidding for

funding.


23/5221

The WorkshopsBetween 2010-2012 the Naonal Refurbishment Centre

led a consultaon across England, Wales, Scotland and

Northern Ireland to understand the industrys views about

delivering green refurbishment on a mass scale.

The consultaon began in England, with nine workshops

held in Birmingham, London, Newcastle, Manchester,

Loughborough, Bristol and Leeds. Workshops were

then held in Cardi, Glasgow and Belfast. Around 100

parcipants aended the workshops, providing valuable

insights.

Parcipants included renovaon providers, product

suppliers and manufacturers, local authories, registered

social landlords, housing associaons, universies and

government agencies.

They were asked ve quesons:

What are the drivers for reducing CO2

in exisng

buildings through refurbishment?

What opportunies do these drivers bring to you andyour sector?

What are the barriers to delivering these

opportunies?

How do we remove the barriers and deliver low

carbon buildings?

What key things should we take into account when

developing a naonal refurbishment programme?

The feedback from each of the workshops was broadlyconsistent and has therefore been compiled into a single

quesons and answer secon. The full feedback from each

of the workshops is included in the appendix on p. 31.

What are the drivers for reducing CO2 inexisng buildings through refurbishment?

Legislaon

At a naonal level, the Climate Change Act (2008) is

driving government targets and policy, with Building

Regulaons Part L and improved EPC rangs being set by

each of the devolved naons. Targets are also increasingly

being set at a local level.

Fuel poverty and energy security

Increasing fuel poverty caused by rising bills as a result of

increased global energy demand

Poor housing

Too many people live in poor quality homes causing health

and societal problems.

Economy

There is a need to smulate economic growth, including

jobs, and to reduce the cost of bills for households and

businesses. Need to create new domesc and export

markets.

Preserving character and heritage

Mistakes in the past should not be repeated in new

developments. Local heritage, character and identy,

parcularly of rural communies, needed preservaon.

Reduce embodied carbon

Replacing exisng buildings is more carbon intensive than

repair/refurbishment.

What opportunies do these drivers bring

to you and your sector?

Do the right thing

Green refurbishment is an opportunity for the

construcon industry to be part of the green economy.

Increase jobs

The refurbishment of thousands of buildings could

increase employment opportunies, for apprences,

SMEs and professionals, including architects.


24/5222

Energise the supply chain and expand markets

Expand and diversify into new markets for both exisngand new products, including innovave technologies and

processes.

Raise skills

Create enrely new, specialised skills, with a skills market

made up of partnerships between organisaons and

educaonal providers. A skills and training cercaon

scheme for refurbishment would be required, with the

introducon of new skills to ensure quality and customer

condence.

Improve buildingsExtending the lifeme of exisng buildings would

increasing both their sustainability and market values.

Improving the sense of place

An opportunity for society embrace the cultural value

of exisng building stock and vernacular architecture in

terms of improving the character of whole townscapes.

Reducing fuel bills, increasing wellbeing

Energy-ecient buildings could increase peoples

disposable income, by helping to reduce fuel bills, but

also increase their well-being. The refurbishment of coldand damp buildings would improve both the health of

occupants and their ability to work.

Improve community and regeneraon

Green refurbishment could foster more communitycooperaon such as street-by-street improvements and

district heang.

Public sector investment

Aract investment from the public sector where it might

draw benet from refurbishments. For example, the NHS

might invest in healthier buildings if it is shown that it

could save on treatment of individuals in the longer term.

Green nance

Financial services could play a role in delivering innovave

green nance, so that people could start earning moneyfrom micro-renewables and also increase their property

values.

What are the barriers to delivering theseopportunies?

Lack of leadership

There is poor leadership from government with a lack of

clear and consistent policy direcon, joined-up thinking

between government departments, or posive messages

from government to business. Planners are sll negaveand overall planning legislaon too slow-moving.

Poor regulatory frameworks

Lack of naonal refurbishment standards, or clear targets

for exisng buildings within Building Regulaons

Part L, make it harder for industry to deliver eecve

soluons or products. The actual denions of green

refurbishment and low carbon buildings were too

imprecise.

Lack of business condence

A lack of clear government backing, including nancialincenves and cauous lending from banks has caused a

lack of businesses condence or wherewithal to invest in a

green refurbishment.

Lack of a strong business case and too much risk

The business case for green refurbishment is sll weak.

The high cost of new materials and developing new

products will be prohibive for some businesses. There is

also a conict between inial capital cost and long-term


25/5223

cost, which drives out innovaon. Insucient or slow

returns on investment for manufacturers plus increasedcosts due to VAT increases. Tendering for refurbishment

projects can also be complex and costly. Pay-back mes

for most larger renewable measures is to be too long

typically seven to 10 years while some products and

processes might actually have poor CO2-saving/payback

raos.

Risk in refurbishment

Compared with new build, refurbishment carries high

risks, which are oen borne disproporonately by very

small sub-contractors.

Public take-up

Capital cost to nance energy-eciency measures is a

challenge on householder and business budgets.

Lack of skills and knowledge

There remains a shortage of skills, and a lack of readiness

of naonal and local supply chains to deliver innovave

refurbishment. Many small building contractors have

limited innovave product knowledge or best pracce

experience. Builders oen lack the condence to sell new

technologies, and customers oen distrust their ability to

do a good job. Training oen focuses on whether the job is

being carried out properly, rather than whether the right

job is being carried out in the rst place.

Unwillingness to change

Construcon industry is oen resistant to change, and

businesses are unwilling to give up compeve advantage.

Local refurbishment markets may be too fragmented to

enable change; small building contractors unwilling to

oversell their services in a highly compeve market.

Public do not understand the benets, and are afraid of

the cost and disrupon.

No clear communicaon or guidance

Lack of skills, knowledge and engagement was due toa corresponding lack of clear, consistent informaon.Homeowners, social and private landlords and buildingprofessionals are a disparate audience and exisnginformaon is oen conicng. The lack of authoritavepracce guides hinders the industry in delivering greenrefurbishment soluons and that the lack of clearcommunicaon prevents the mobilisaon of the wider

public.

Complex delivery

There are addional costs and disrupon associated withrefurbishment projects, such as decanng residents can

account for half the cost of social housing refurbishment,

ill-planned refurbishment to oces can severely disrupt

business. The levels of people, resources and mescales

associated with large-scale refurbishments remain unclear.

Complexity of green refurbishment

Householders put o by the expense and disrupon of

refurbishing a whole house and daunted by possible

soluons. Previously unknown structural problems, and

other hidden horrors such as asbestos and dry rot, couldalso complicate esmaon of costs.

New technology

The route to market is too oen delayed by the

accreditaon process, and that the industry can be slow in

adopng new products. End-users may also be put o by

the real or perceived complexity of new technologies, and

use it either incorrectly or not at all thus not gaining the

benets.

How do we remove the barriers and deliver

low carbon buildings?

Stronger leadership

Greater clarity of purpose and strategic thinking from

government and beer co-ordinaon between public

bodies. The government should set out a roadmap for

new policies and roadmaps with a minimum mescale and

legislaon fast-tracked. All stakeholder groups need to be

more pro-acve about inuencing government thinking

and policy development, as well as developing standards.

Beer regulaons and standardsClear thermal standards should be developed. Building

Regulaons should be developed to make green

refurbishment the norm, with cercaon for quality-

accredited buildings. In general there should be more

stringent and enforceable law, including compliance with

Part L, and ghter regulaon on what manufacturers can

claim. Tough nancial penales should be created for not

meeng targets.


26/5224

Create clearer routes to funding

In addion to FiTs and RHI, building owners should benetfrom other incenves such as reduced VAT, stamp duty

council tax rebates linked directly with EPCs. Other funding

proposals included interest-free loans with long pay-back

periods, loans that are paid back on the sale of the home,

lower-rate green mortgages, and extending the boiler

scrappage scheme. In general there is requirement for

clearer direcon from funding bodies and for funds

to be ring-fenced.

Improve delivery

Create economies of scale through community

partnerships and partnerships between housingassociaons for street-by-street programmes. Be

pragmac, acknowledging that dierent schemes and

buildings, need dierent soluons with dierent results.

Councils should facilitate a volume refurbishment as

they understand the local building stock. More public

buildings could become refurbishment exemplars, with

more co-ordinaon of the dierent projects. Research

and development into delivery processes will help volume

refurbishments.

Provide beer training

A beer spread of green skills training across the countryto give local workforce the appropriate skills. There should

be mass-skills training with more collaborave working

between dierent trades. Funding should be priorised

towards providers that up-skill exisng trades. Specialist,

refurbishment-related skills accreditaon would give

condence to consumers. Sustainable refurbishment

should be embedded in the connuing professional

development (CPD) of building professionals, especially

architects. The prole of building engineers, who

specialise in building technology, urgently needs to be

raised so that more young people will consider it as a

career.

Create a stable market environment

More stability to deliver mass retrot, with a beer-

integrated supply chain to drive down costs, and

industrialised soluons developed to deliver at scale.

Delivery could be enhanced by replacing individual

consultants and contractors with more integrated

soluon providers. Manufacturers want a clear brief of

the soluons needed to develop the right products, and a

payback incenve to get 50% of savings. Project insurance

would help to overcome risk transfer, while demand from

local authories, housing associaons and ALMOs shouldbe consolidated to create an inial mass-market.

Simplify and improve soluons

Develop more products that are easy to use and dont

require specialist skills to install. Create plug and play

soluons to remove complexity and disrupon. Focus on

the 20% of measures that achieve 80% of CO2

savings.

Architects should incorporate viable products in their

designs. Surveyors should give homeowners independent

advice about specic soluons, and phased refurbishment.

Local authories could present local communies with

opmum external wall insulaon soluons, in partnership

with providers, for street-by-street installaons. This

would help spread costs, and would help with dierences

in zoning, u-values and possible infringements of party

wall legislaon that can arise when individuals undertake

their own insulaon projects.

Building consumer condence

Trade associaons have a key role to play in raising

consumer condence. Trusted contractor schemes or

installer networks, endorsed by trade bodies, could

include site visits. Other independent inspecon and

quality control mechanisms could also be developed, with

insurance-backed guarantees and warrantees

to further strengthen condence.

Increase knowledge transfer and awareness

Beer co-ordinaon of refurbishment demonstraon

projects carrying out valuable work so lessons reach a

wider audience. More informaon about the benets of

each technology for the end user to help idenfy robust

mass retrot soluons. An awareness drive aimed at

local authories, from chief execuves to building control

ocers.

Changing behaviour

Energy-ecient buildings need to be promoted at every

level, from schools to the mass media. Lessons could be

learned from success of the double glazing sector, which

engaged the public and created a market demand that

changed consumer behaviour. Educate occupants so that

technologies properly and not abandoned.

More eecve communicaon

Messages about the benets of green refurbishment


27/5225

need to be stronger, with an emphasis on reduced

energy bills. Informaon needs to t audience needs,with communicaon campaigns for homeowners, private

and social housing landlords, business and building

professionals. Free, imparal advice should be easily

accessible from local authories and independent bodies,

and demonstraon project case studies more widely

disseminated. Provide comparison-based informaon

through DIY retailers and builders merchants and help tap

into tradional trigger points.

What key things should be taken into account

when developing the naonal refurbishment

strategy?

A joined-up approach

A more coordinated and collaborave approach to

refurbishment, with more dened goals and a clearer

understanding of desired outcomes. Develop a

collaborave mul-disciplinary network to understand the

soluons and regional approaches. Joined-up thinking will

to nd naonal and regional soluons to skills and training

and other areas that threaten a successful naonal

refurbishment drive.

Knowledge and evidence

Refurbishment guidance and advice should be based on

robust evidence. There needs to be a central source for

performance data from dierent demonstraon projects

around the country. This will allow the sector to see which

products and soluons work, how best they should be

used and any risks associated with their use. This will

enable reliable informaon such as best pracce guides to

be produced, manufacturers to idenfy possible gaps in

the market, and industry to develop praccal codes.

Shape government policyGovernment should be encouraged to develop clear

and consistent legislaon, regulaon, standards and

incenves, with strong cross party support. Then

encourage government to sck to policy.

Standards and codes

Clear standards for refurbishment, building on proven

naonal standards such BREEAM, which recognises that

there is not a one-size-ts-all approach to green retrot,

and can be adapted further based on market need.

Standard soluons developed for individual elements,with rangs for dierent products and systems.

Eecve delivery soluons

Public and private partnerships, with access to reliable

suppliers and installers should be encouraged. Targets for

delivery should be dened, with achievable milestones.

Local authories, housing associaons and ALMOs

should lead street-by-street refurbishment iniaves to

reduce costs and ensure consistency.

Improved skills and accreditaon

Raise the skill levels, parcularly for smaller buildingcontractors. There needs to be a co-ordinated

approach, creang links with training providers at all

levels to increase the skills capacity needed to deliver

innovave soluons. There is a role for trade bodies to

give accreditaon to contractors and ensure that work

is carried out properly. This will improve consumer

condence.

A local focus

A recognion of dierences between regions and

devolved naons. Regulaons and standards should reect

this and soluons should be based on local building typesand materials, as well as local character. There should be

a reliance on local contractors to deliver work whenever

possible. Local networks should be used to introduce

change, mobilise businesses and leverage funding.

Praccal and achievable soluons

Focus on relavely simple quick-wins such as cavity wall

insulaon. Easy-to-use, low-tech soluons should be

promoted to end-users, and a project-by-project approach

to refurbishment advocated to consumers put o by the

cost of the whole-house approach.

Improved funding streams

Clearer funding mechanisms and incenves need toimprove the case for companies and housholders toinvest in R&D and energy-ecient soluons. These couldbe linked to incenves such as reduced VAT and reducedcouncil tax or stamp duty. There is also scope to bringenergy providers and personal nance together and to

invesgate opportunies for gear funding.


28/5226

Eecve communicaon and engagement

Beer engagement with the supply chain and consumersabout the benets of green refurbishment. More praccal,

step-by-step processes and product guides, available

at point-of-sale outlets to increase knowledge and

condence. Communicaon should be targeted to t

the dierent audiences, with the emphasis on nancial

benets and comfort rather than climate change.

Consumers should be told about what they can do to

improve their buildings with lile or no money. Good

examples of refurbishment should be used to excite the

publics imaginaon.

Conclusion

Since parcipants at the 2010 workshops raised concerns

about the lack of clear leadership training and funding,

green refurbishment has become xed item on the

energy-eciency agenda of both policymakers and

business. In the past two years the government has

launched its tari schemes and is implemenng its

Green Deal loan iniave in all the devolved naons bar

Northern Ireland. More specialised training courses are

now being oered for trades and retrot has even started

reaching the pages of the naonal press.

Nevertheless, the concerns and aspiraons expressed in

all the workshops remain valid and are broadly consistent

throughout the devolved naons. Chief among these is

sll the desire for a more co-ordinated approach within

industry; beer access to useful data about the soluons

that work for dierent building types and more up-skilling

of the workforce.

And despite an increased focus on green refurbishment

by government, there sll remains a concern about a lack

of leadership in terms of the creaon of standards; driving

forward greater public understanding and engagementwith energy-eciency; and creang incenves for people

to invest in soluons and industry to invest in R&D.

Delivering refurbishment on a naonal scale

Parcipants in all the workshops had a clear idea of what

would help a naonal delivery of refurbishment. Crical

to ecient delivery, is sll the need for data about what

energy-eciency measures actually work for dierent

building types in dierent in dierent parts of the UK.

There is sll a desire for a single place where reliable

performance data can be accessed to inform investmentdecisions.

There is also a desire for refurbishment standards to be

developed, including a refurbishment equivalent of the

Code for Sustainable Homes and creang beer links

between industry and training providers to increase the

skills capacity needed to deliver innovave soluons in

occupied property.

Above all there is a strong recognion among parcipants

in all the workshops that industry needs to grasp the easy

wins such as cavity wall insulaon rst, in order to meet

the targets. This pragmasm extends to a recognion thateasy-to-use and easy-to-install soluons will provide the

greatest inial gains.

Parcipants in all the workshops understood the

challenges presented by a lack of nance and strained

household budgets. Incenvising people to invest in

energy eciency whether through tax rebates, lower

VAT, aracve loans is seen as crical to kick-starng

the market, which might in turn create a stronger

business case for companies to invest me and money to

developing new soluons.

However, underpinning all this is a need to beer

communicate the benets of making buildings more

energy-ecient as a business opportunity for contractors

and as a way to reduce bills and emissions for occupiers.


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Naonal Refurbishment Centre

Supporng a joined-up approach backed up by robust

performance data and strengthened by collaborave praccal

problem-solving.


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Our acvies

The Naonal Refurbishment Centre (NRC) is a joint

iniave between BRE, the Energy Saving Trust andpartners to provide evidence and knowledge that supports

the mass delivery of green refurbishment.

The NRC is providing this evidence through a naonal

demonstraon network of over 500 refurbishment

exemplars, one of the largest of its kind in the UK. The

analysis of the data aims to provide crical insight for both

industry and government in the areas of refurbishment

soluons and skills.

To foster knowledge sharing, the NRC is also building up

an online library of best pracce guides and resources on

all aspects of green refurbishment and retrot, as well asproviding informaon on events and seminars.

A partnership organisationThe Naonal Refurbishment Centre is aimed at industry,

driven by industry and funded by industry. Its partners

represent a cross-secon of industry and include

manufacturers, energy providers, main contractors,

housing associaons, professional organisaons, research

bodies, training providers and retailers. It is a highly

collaborave organisaon, with the partners aending

quarterly steering group meengs led by an independent

chairman.

The leading partners are BRE and the Energy Saving

Trust. The two organisaons have a well-established

history of working together, with complementary skills

and experse. They both have a UK-wide delivery

infrastructure and leading data and knowledge insight,

with robust accreditaon and performance monitoring

protocols.

Gathering the evidenceThe Naonal Refurbishment Centres primary goal isto help support a step-change in the naonal delivery

of sustainable refurbishment by providing industry

stakeholders with data driven energy-eciency measures.

When the Department of Environment and Climate

Change called for evidence to help it develop the Green

Deal proposal, the NRC provided it with data from over

500 refurbishment exemplar projects. The informaon

included the age and details of house-types, key

Our goals

Provide the data needed by industry to make

evidence-based decisions and aid policy

development.

Act as a forum for the industry to set the

refurbishment agenda and support delivery.

Support R&D and oer clear routes to market

for private-sector partners for innovaon, new

materials and technologies.

Act as a one-stop-shop for those seeking

sustainable refurbishment soluons, providing

them with data, guides, and advice.

Disseminate naonal best pracce and

standardised design soluons.

Inform the training and skills sector for

development of small and medium sized

building contractors who are the backbone of

the refurbishment sector.

To foster collaboraon in a compeve

industry.


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refurbishment measures, cost of intervenons, overall

energy performance data and lessons learned.

This kind of informaon is being made available to the

public and the NRC is also able to overlay addional

sources of informaon to carry out deeper analysis of the

data to really understand the true eciencies and costs of

dierent energy-eciency measures where required.

Benets from gathering data

A study into soluons and skills, using data from the

Refurbishment Portal and elsewhere, highlights the

importance of having a large data-set to draw upon.

When the Refurbishment Portal was rst launched in June

2011, the cost of achieving an 80% reducon in CO2

was

esmated to be around 36,000 for a home. The study

found that while economies of scale are expected to

reduce costs in the long term, the lack of readiness of the

supply chain and the workforce to deliver refurbishment

could mean the costs of these works actually goes up. This

understanding will help inform industry of the need to tool

up for large scale delivery, and provide the correct skills to

deliver.

Reviewing BREs Victorian Terrace refurbishment project,

the study also gained valuable insights into where wastage

of me and materials can occur. It revealed, for example,

that 15% of all man-hours spent on the refurbishment of

the hard-to-treat building, was found to have no added

value.

Using BREs site eciency tool CALIBRE, the amount of

me spent on dierent acvies could be accurately

broken down to nd ways of improving eciencies in the

refurbishment process. While a lot of site me was spent

making repairs to the structure and ng insulaon, a

great deal of me was also spent non-producvely on

changes to the specicaon and delays through receiving

non-FSC mber and poor buildability of products to suit arefurbishment environment.

Lessons learned from projects such as these will mean

ensuring the provenance of supplies, and developing rapid

retrot measures will reduce me and materials needed

to complete the work.

Raising awarenessThe NRC regularly speaks at seminars, workshopsand conferences to raise awareness of issues around

sustainable refurbishment and retrot. At Ecobuild 2012,

for example, representaves chaired panel discussion

seminars on refurbishing hard-to-treat homes, smart

metering and the importance of sharing best pracce.

It has also been featured in The Daily Telegraph, and

contributed arcles for the trade press and journals,

including RICS Residenal Property Journal.

Hosng events

Among the dierent workshops and events that theNRC has been involved with, is the annual INSITE event,

which in 2011 focused on retrot and which the Naonal

Refurbishment Centre sponsored. A key desnaon was

the Reality Zone exhibion, which featured refurbishment

case studies from its Naonal Refurbishment Centre

partners. The exhibion also included brieng sessions on

dierent retrot issues, including briengs on the Green

Deal, trigger points for domesc refurbishments and

sustainable oce refurbishments.

The Refurbishment Portal is a searchable database, allowing

users to search for refurbishment case studies. Each case

study includes an overview project descripon, with details of

measures and performance data. It is available to all via

www.rethinkingrefurbishment.com.


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Invest in Innovave Refurbishment

The NRC also co-hosted a workshop with the ModernBuilt Environment Knowledge Transfer Network ahead

of the Technology Strategy Boards Invest in Innovave

refurbishment compeon in April 2012. Architects,

suppliers, installers, universies and others members of

the retrot community were able to learn more about

the government compeon and network ahead of the

10M three-year government-funded compeon for

the non-domesc market. The day-long event featured a

programme of presentaons from the Department of the

Environment, the Technology Strategy Board, Arup and

the Modern Built Environment KTN.

A voice for industryThe NRC provides a useful plaorm for industry

stakeholders to connect with government. In January

2012, for example, Naonal Refurbishment Centre

partners met with a representave of the Department of

Environment & Climate Change (DECC) team developing

the Green Deal. During a round table workshop,

DECC claried parcular elements of the Green Deal

consultaon document and partners idened risks,

barriers and opportunies, and provided evidence for a

need for an area based approach to carbon reducons.

What next?

This report has aempted to describe the refurbishment

challenge and opportunies for the UK. With the

excepon of Northern Ireland, the introducon of the

Green Deal nance scheme represents a crical moment if

we are to meet the challenges set out at an internaonal

level with regard to our exisng building stock.

But it must be remembered that building maintenance

and refurbishment has always represented a mul-billion

pound segment of the construcon sector. The NRC will

connue to respond to the needs of the sector idened

in our extensive consultaon and relaonship with ourpartners.

Our core acvies going forward will be to:

maintain our work gathering the data and

intelligence that industry needs.

develop and deliver collaborave research relevant

to the needs of the sector.

foster coordinated and collaborave work on green

refurbishment.

For more informaon about NRC acvies and to

use the Refurbishment Portal go to:

www.rethinkingrefurbishment.com


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Appendix

Feedback from the England, Wales, Scotland and

Northern Ireland workshops.


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England WorkshopsIn 2010 nine workshops held in in Birmingham, London,Newcastle, Manchester, Loughborough, Bristol and Leeds,

collecng the views of more than 30 professionals.

What are the drivers for reducing CO2

in

exisng buildings through refurbishment?

Regulaon/ Legislaon

Major government iniaves such as the Green Deal,

guided by the Climate Change Act (2008).

To a lesser extent, Building Regulaons Part L and

improving EPC rangs as part of the EUs Energy

Performance of Buildings Direcve.

Locally-focused targets, such Naonal Indicator NI 186

(CO2

emissions reducon in Local Authority areas), and

locally-derived targets.

Eradicang fuel poverty, improving health

Tackle fuel poverty among vulnerable secons of

society.

Make buildings healthier places to live to reduce costs

to the NHS and wider public sector.

Meeng expectaons for a higher living standards

People need comfortable yet aordable homes, and

exisng buildings need to be refurbished because they

are unlikely to be replaced.

Economic factors

Fuel bills are rising and poverty becoming more

widespread because of increased worldwide energy

demand.

Need to grow economy by boosng technological

innovaon, creang jobs and supply chains for new UK

and overseas markets.

What opportunies do these drivers bringto you and your sector?

Doing the right thing

An opportunity for the construcon industry to be

seen as a force for good, oering companies the

chance to become part of the new green economy.

Improving buildings

Extending the lifeme of exisng buildings and

increasing both their sustainability and market values.

Improving the sense of place

Embrace the cultural value of exisng building stock

as there are opportunies to improve the character of

whole townscapes, with benecial impacts for all.

Reducing fuel bills, increasing wellbeing

Increase peoples disposable income by helping to

reduce fuel bills, while increasing well-being.

Improve both the health of occupants and their ability

to work by refurbishing cold and damp buildings.

Expand markets

Expand markets for exisng products.

Create and expand markets for innovave new

technologies and processes with uptake fuelling

further innovaon in a virtuous circle.

Increase job prospects

Increase employment opportunies in the

construcon industry and create enrely new skills by

refurbishing thousands of buildings every year.

Raise skills

Create a new skills market, where organisaons

partner with educaonal providers to develop

qualicaons that enable SME builders to benet from

market growth.

Skills and training cercaon scheme for

refurbishment to ensure quality/customer condence.


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Public sector investment

Aract investment from the wider public sector

where it might draw benet from refurbishments. For

example, NHS could invest in healthier buildings if it is

shown that they can expect to save on treatment of

individuals in the longer term.

Green nance

Inuence government funding mechanisms such as

FiTS and the Renewable Heat Incenve (RHI).

Financial services deliver innovave green nance, so

that people earn money from micro-renewables and

increase property values.

What are the barriers to delivering these

opportunies?

Reduced government funding

Private sector must ll the gap le by a strained public

purse but many businesses lack condence to invest

without clear government backing and support from

banks,.

Government incenves are insucient routes to the

funding remain unclear.

Poor regulatory frameworks

Leadership by government is weak.

A lack of naonal refurbishment standards or

clear targets for exisng buildings within Building

Regulaons Part L make it harder for industry to

deliver eecve soluons.

The denions of green refurbishment and low

carbon buildings are too imprecise.

Lack of skills and knowledge

Skills shortage and the unpreparedness of naonal

and local supply chains to deliver innovave

refurbishment.

Builders lack the condence to sell new technologies

and homeowners oen distrust their ability to do a

good job.

Training tends to focus on whether the job is being

carried out properly rather than whether the right jobis being carried out in the rst place.

Unwillingness to change

Parts of construcon industry is resistant to change

and businesses unwilling to give up potenal

compeve advantage.

Local refurbishment markets may currently be too

fragmented to enable change and small building

contractors may be unwilling to oversell their services

in a highly compeve market.

Lack of awareness and buy-in from domesc and

c

Documents

Refurbishing the Nation - Gathering the evidence