Green retrofit of aged residential buildings in Hong Kong: A preliminary study

Abstract

Green retrofit of aged residential buildings offers an alternative solution to reduce global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The promotion of green retrofit and the performance of retrofitted buildings depend on applicable technologies and policies. A wide range of retrofit technologies and retrofit policies have been applied throughout the world. However, little attention has been paid to identify feasible retrofit technologies and retrofit policies for particular regions, for example Hong Kong. In this study, both of technologies and policies of refurbishment were reviewed and examined with aiming to develop a framework for implementing suitable green retrofit technologies and green retrofit policies in Hong Kong. The particular characteristics of Hong Kong residential buildings were extracted based on the investigation of 100 public buildings. Taking the typical situations (building feature, climate environment and policy circumstance) as the selection criteria, 28 green retrofit technologies and 18 green retrofit policies were recommended. By analysing their attributes, these technologies and policies were integrated into a framework based on the three development stages of green retrofit (namely, pilot stage, promotion stage and full implementation stage). The findings in this study are useful for local government setting up green retrofit strategies for Hong Kong and also provide good references for other countries and regions.