Monitoring energy & environmental performance of low energy refurbishment

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Monitoring energy and environmental performance of an innovative low energy refurbishment of a historic council office building

Session 1 Paper 4, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, 14-15 April 2016

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This paper describes the innovative low energy approach adopted for refurbishment of a historic council office building, underpinned by a systematic building performance evaluation approach pre- and post-refurbishment. Pre-refurbishment monitoring showed issues of ‘chilliness’ from low surface temperature walls and low response times to heating the spaces, despite heating being on 24 hours a day. Funded by Innovate UK, the refurbishment addressed the challenges of maintaining the historic character, minimising disruption for building users while improving comfort, by deploying an innovative internal insulation technology on the internal face of external walls, integrated with secondary glazing and ventilation systems. Postrefurbishment monitoring showed 58% reduction in energy consumption, in line with the design target, while indoor temperatures ranged between 15-23°C during winter and 20-26°C during summer. Most users found the spaces comfortable all year round. Insights from the study can help in refurbishment of historic buildings in UK and beyond.