Abstract
Historic buildings account for more than one-quarter of Europe’s existing building stock and are going to be crucial in the achievement of future energy targets. Although a drastic reduction in carbon emissions would slow climate change, an alteration in the climate is already certain. Therefore, the impact of climate change on retrofitted historic buildings should be considered in terms of occupants’ comfort, heritage conservation, and energy performance. Inappropriate interventions might weaken the potential of traditional climate adaptive solutions, such as thermal mass and night cooling, leading to higher risks of overheating in a warming climate. Similarly, retrofit solutions will change the moisture dynamics of historic envelopes, which might lead to moisture damages when combined with more extreme precipitation events. This paper reviews recent literature that provides evidence of climate change’s impact on retrofitted buildings, reveals potential future risks, and thereby sheds light on new factors influencing the decision-making process in the retrofit of historic buildings.
Highlights
The severity and the impact of climate change have been rigorously assessed in scientific literature
Literature on the internal climate of historic buildings mainly focused on the conservation requirements of artifacts or the overheating problem caused by retrofit (Table 2)
A changing climate will result in increased temperature and changed rain pattern; together with retrofit solutions, it may change the energy use, indoor climate, and moisture dynamic of historic buildings
Summary
The severity and the impact of climate change have been rigorously assessed in scientific literature. Researchers from the ADAPT NORTHERN HERITAGE project [9] are working on the identification of possible adaptation activities for heritage sites in the Northern Periphery and Arctic These projects confirmed the relevance of investigating the impact of climate change on historic buildings. The studies looked into the consequences of higher temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, higher flooding risks, and rising sea levels, which will influence heritage conservation, energy performance, and retrofit decisions. All these studies considered historic buildings in their original state, that is, before any energy improvement intervention. A review of recent literature is presented, providing evidence of the combined impacts of climate change and energy retrofit on historic buildings. The search query used was “historic building” or “built heritage” or “traditional building” or “historic center” or “historic district” and “climate change” or “future climate” and “(energy) retrofit” or “renovation” or “internal insulation” and “overheating” or “thermal comfort” or “thermal mass” or “ventilation” or “passive cooling” or “energy (efficiency)” or “(wind-driven) rain” or “building conservation” or “hygrothermal performance”
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