Abstract
ABSTRACT Significant energy and carbon originate in the existing built environment and retrofit is therefore a key carbon reduction strategy. However heritage buildings -comprising around 20% of UK buildings- are challenging to retrofit appropriately due to their historical values and traditional construction. Retrofit carbon savings are dependent on current energy use which is strongly influenced by residents’ behaviours, and retrofit decisions for domestic heritage are generally the responsibility of homeowners. Therefore both residents’ views and behaviours are important for effective retrofit strategies. However behaviours are rarely considered in standard energy models and residents’ views are often overlooked in heritage retrofit policy. This paper analyses a survey of the views, values and behaviours of 147 residents of pre-1940 buildings. The majority are found to strongly value their homes’ heritage and mainly view exterior building alterations negatively. However residents’ heritage values and acceptable retrofits, frequently differ from those of experts and policy makers. Residents report actively engaging in several positive energy behaviours and many have already undertaken common carbon saving measures. These findings imply that, for effective carbon reduction from heritage buildings, policy and legislation needs to extend beyond current definitions of ‘heritage’ and acknowledge residents’ complex values, motivations and energy behaviours.
Highlights
This paper investigates the heritage values, carbon reduction views and energy behaviours of residents of heritage buildings, and explores the implications for retrofitting decisions and approaches
In the UK there has been little research into residents’ perceptions of their indoor environmental comfort 18 to substantiate these assumptions. These perceptions may have an important role in understanding energy behaviours, identifying appropriate retrofit solutions, and reducing the gap between predicted energy and carbon savings, and actual savings. This paper examines these issues by asking the following research questions: 1. How do the views, values and behaviours of heritage building residents differ from official assumptions?
The first research question for this study was: How do the views, values and behaviours of heritage building residents differ from official assumptions? Firstly, it was found that almost all older buildings are considered to have heritage values by their residents, even if they are not officially protected
Summary
This paper investigates the heritage values, carbon reduction views and energy behaviours of residents of heritage buildings, and explores the implications for retrofitting decisions and approaches. Significant energy use and carbon emissions originate in the built environment and must be urgently reduced to help mitigate climate change.[1] The rate of building stock replacement in Europe is only around 1% per year,[2] so retrofitting to improve the performance of existing buildings is a key strategy. When asked about their own homes as opposed to photos of archetype buildings, residents most valued ‘the building in context’ instead of specific elements.[26]
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