Abstract
Improving the energy efficiency of traditional buildings, which represent a large proportion of the building stock in the UK, is necessary to meet national targets on greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate fuel poverty. Traditional dwellings in the UK are defined as hard-to-treat homes because insulating them is not cost-effective or might lead to moisture-related issues. This has led to efforts from policy-makers and organisations towards minimizing moisture risk in the energy-efficient retrofit of traditional buildings. This paper presents an overview of the work done towards a moisture-safe retrofit in the UK in the past ten years, focusing on the Government’s policies and the work and legacy of the late Neil May, one of the pioneers in sustainable traditional buildings in the UK.
Highlights
Constructed buildings account for a large proportion of the building stock in many countries; the United Kingdom has the oldest housing stock in Europe, where dwellings built prior to 1940 account for around 40% of its stock [1]
Improving the energy efficiency of traditional buildings, which represent a large proportion of the building stock in the UK, is necessary to meet national targets on greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate fuel poverty
Traditional dwellings in the UK are defined as hard-totreat homes because insulating them is not cost-effective or might lead to moisture-related issues. This has led to efforts from policy-makers and organisations towards minimizing moisture risk in the energy-efficient retrofit of traditional buildings
Summary
Constructed buildings account for a large proportion of the building stock in many countries; the United Kingdom has the oldest housing stock in Europe, where dwellings built prior to 1940 account for around 40% of its stock [1]. Improving the energy efficiency of such buildings is necessary to meet national targets on greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate fuel poverty. Most Traditional dwellings in the UK are defined as hard-to-treat homes, because – due to their solid wall construction – insulating them is not cost-effective [2]. The current state of energy-efficient renovation of traditional buildings shows a discrepancy between ambitious carbon reduction targets and the actual rate of uptake of the retrofit. As of 2019, only 11% of dwellings with solid walls have insulation installed [3]. There is increasing evidence that the inappropriate retrofit of traditional buildings has led to unintended consequences, causing damage to the building fabric, heritage or health of building occupants [4]
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