Sarah Sayce Award for Sustainability Research: Decarbonising the UK's hard-to-treat homes |
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Citation: Dr Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi (corresponding author), Ben Riddle (co-author), Dr Chenfei Liu (co-author) Professor Steve Sharples (co-author) (2024) Decarbonising the UK's hard-to-treat homes: A comparative life cycle carbon analysis of retrofit strategies.
London: Property Research Trust. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52915/HNXA5389 Keywords: Real Estate, decarbonising, hard-to-treat homes, retrofit strategies, carbon analysis, Passivhaus, heat-pump, low carbon technologies, photovoltaic panels, new homes, carbon emissions, natural insulation materials, insulation. |
Summary:
In order to achieve its 2050 net-zero emissions goal, the UK government must significantly improve the energy performance of millions of hard-to-treat homes through retrofitting. However, questions over the embodied carbon emissions of retrofit projects arise, specifically deep retrofits, when the embodied carbon emissions of the retrofit are compared to a shallow retrofit or demolition. This study evaluates the carbon footprints of various retrofit interventions by comparing the impact of a deep retrofit based on the Passivhaus retrofit standard (EnerPHit) to a shallow or conventional retrofit following UK building regulations. The research also assesses the whole-life carbon impact of a ‘heat-pump first’ compared to a ‘fabric-first’ approach using natural insulation materials versus standard petrochemical-derived insulation. Finally, the study presents the carbon avoidance achieved through retrofitting compared to the carbon emissions from demolition and building new homes. The findings reveal that retrofitting buildings can reduce operational carbon emissions by 59% to 94%. Conventional retrofit scenarios generate 37% fewer energy savings than the EnerPHit standard with petrochemical materials but only result in 1% less embodied carbon. Low carbon technologies, such as photovoltaic panels or heat pumps, increase the embodied carbon by 38% to 117% but did significantly decrease operational carbon emissions by 71% (photovoltaics) and 61% (heat pumps). |
Authors
Dr Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi, University of Liverpool, School of Architecture
Ben Riddle, Ecospheric Ltd, Cheshire
Dr Chenfei Liu, Oxford Brookes University, School of Architecture
Professor. Steve Sharples, University of Liverpool, School of Architecture
Ben Riddle, Ecospheric Ltd, Cheshire
Dr Chenfei Liu, Oxford Brookes University, School of Architecture
Professor. Steve Sharples, University of Liverpool, School of Architecture