Stronghouse

Step-by-step retrofit - RGU's latest study

05 September 2022 - Published by Deirdre Buist
The UK has one of the least energy-efficient housing stocks in Europe. By 2030, the emissions from homes need to fall dramatically if the UK is to meet its ambitious goal of net-zero. As part of the Stronghouse project, partners at Robert Gordon University (RGU) have produced a new research paper, applying the building typology approach to predict energy savings using a step-by-step retrofit scenario.

New retrofit policy proposal

Based on Stronghouse results, RGU proposes a new retrofit policy for the UK housing stock, specifying the order in which to deploy energy efficiency measures. The study also defines the energy-saving potentials achievable throughout the UK with step-by-step renovation targeting the EnerPHit standard (“Quality-Approved Energy Retrofit with Passive House Components”).

Potential gains & reductions

The energy-saving potential is 87%, and carbon reductions are about 76%, considering all the steps of renovation applied. It has been demonstrated that the biggest gains across the various typologies of  housing stock can be achieved by replacing windows, draught-proofing, and installing mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.

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Predicted total annual energy consumption of the UK housing sector by applying a step-by-step retrofit.

Valuable analysis for further development

These findings are very valuable for the partnership, contributing to the work which analyses existing practices and their impact. The paper aims to determine the energy-saving potentials achievable, based on Stronghouse understandings, and contributes to the development of new retrofit policy actions in the UK.

Sounds interesting? RGU’s report has been published in the Energies journal where you can read more details: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/9/3082/html