This is one of a series of occasional Guidance Notes published by The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC). IHBC Guidance Notes offer current and recent guidance into topics that we consider crucial to the promotion of good built and historic environment conservation policy and practice. The Notes necessarily reflect knowledge and practice at the time they were developed, while the IHBC always welcomes new case examples, feedback and comment to research@ihbc.org.uk for future revisions and updates.
Introduction
1. The UK Government has committed to Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Scottish Government has committed to Net Zero by 2045, and the Welsh Government, which has made retrofit of existing buildings a national infrastructure priority, is now aiming for Net Zero by 2050 (1) . Northern Ireland is included in the UK-wide target but does not have its own climate change legislation and emissions targets.
2. Buildings account for 26% of the UK greenhouse gas emissions (primarily due to fossil fuels in heating). Older buildings of traditional solid wall construction form to up to 35% of the stock (2).
3. This guidance note provides web-based links to help IHBC members with these issues. It starts with key information and advice on adaptation and mitigation; it highlights issues; and summarises Climate Change challenges affecting historic and traditional buildings. Please also read the companion IHBC guidance note on Retrofitting Traditional Buildings, which covers PAS 2035 (3) and BS 7913 (4) the key standards for conservation and retrofit of traditional buildings.
ADAPTATION for resilience
4. Adaptation deals with consequences of climate change, including flooding
and extreme rainfall. It involves anything from good maintenance, to
altering rainwater goods to enable them to cope with increasingly frequent
extreme weather events, to dealing with flood risks. Historic England’s Flooding and Historic Buildings (5) gives
guidance on how to manage flood risks and improve resilience in relation to
historic buildings, and on dealing with the consequences if the worst
should happen.
MITIGATION to reduce emissions
5. Mitigation involves work to buildings to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings in poor repair perform less
efficiently; good maintenance and repair should be the first action. If
retrofit measures are considered, be aware that they may make a building
less sustainable unless approached in a well-informed way.
6. Useful introductions and/or more detailed advice:
7. Relevant legislation, regulations, government guidance and standards
There is helpful legislation and guidance available:
8. Differences between modern and traditional construction
Government and industry have too often promoted a “one size fits all”
approach to older buildings. A notably useful exception, which recognises
differing moisture performance between modern and historic buildings, is
the Guidance to Landlords and Local Authorities on the Private Rented Property
Minimum Standard (19) : see the very helpful technical advice in Chapter 3.
There is an ever-increasing body of knowledge, and evidence of problems, to which you can refer if advocating a different approach:
CLIMATE CHANGE TARGETS
9. The Government’s new Net Zero commitment has overtaken the UK statutory
targets (80% carbon reduction by 2050) set out in the Climate Change Act 2008 and the Energy Act 2011. Current
Government strategy is set out in the Clean Growth Strategy (2018) (25). The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change’s Special Report (October 2018) (26) on Global Warming of 1.5°C, set out
a much more urgent timescale (2030), now taken up by Extinction Rebellion
and declarations of Climate Emergencies. Most recently, the Committee on
Climate Change’s Net Zero Report (2019) (27) seeks net zero greenhouse gases by 2050;
the Government’s new commitment meets the Committee’s recommendations.
The Government relies on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) as a measure of progress; EPCs are a flawed measure when applied to older buildings, but so established that major change seems unlikely. See the STBA’s EPCs and the Whole House Approach – a Scoping Study (28) produced for Historic England and the National Trust.
The Clean Growth Strategy set out targets “where practical, cost-effective, and affordable” for all fuel-poor homes, and as many as possible privately-rented homes, to be upgraded to EPC Band C by 2030, and as many homes as possible to be EPC Band C by 2035. The Committee on Climate Change’s assessment of the Clean Growth Strategy suggested these targets could involve insulation of a further 1.5 million solid walls by 2030, and a further 2 million solid walls by 2050. For more detailed consideration of building-related issues, opportunities and challenges, see John Preston’sFebruary 2019 Policy Update for STBA (29), and Chapter 3 of the Climate Change Committee’s Net Zero Technical Report (30). Theresa May has set out a Buildings mission initiative to “at least halve energy use in new builds by 2030 and to halve the cost of retrofitting existing buildings to the same standard”.
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
10. A retrofit skills crisis (responsible for many unintended consequences)
and ever-increasing demand have been overlaid on the longstanding skills
crisis in traditional construction. See the 2013 “Skills Needs Analysis” of repair
maintenance and retrofit (31)
The Level 3 Award in Energy Efficiency Measures for Older and Traditional Buildings has been developed specifically for buildings of traditional construction. (32)
John Preston MA(Cantab), DipTP, IHBC
Endnotes
1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48596775
2. Mostly, but not all, pre 1919; see Solid Wall Literature Review 2015 (BRE for DECC) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/396363/solid_wall_insulation_literature_review.pdf
3.
PAS 2035:2019 Specification for the energy retrofit of domestic buildings
(due to be published by BSI 18 June 2019)
https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2017-04146
4. BS7913:2013 Guide to the conservation of historic buildings – IHBC branded version available at https://www.ihbc.org.uk/bs/
5. https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/flooding-and-historic-buildings-2ednrev/heag017-flooding-and-historic-buildings/
6. https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/your-home/saving-energy/
7. https://www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support/your-property/saving-energy-in-traditional-buildings/
8.
https://www.spab.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/MainSociety/
SPAB%20Briefing_Energy%20efficiency.pdf
9.
https://www.spab.org.uk/sites/default/files/SPAB%20
Control_of_Dampness_Edn_01_Rev_01_0.pdf
10. http://www.sdfoundation.org.uk/downloads/Guide-1-Planning-Responsible-Retrofit-2015-08.pdf
11. http://www.sdfoundation.org.uk/downloads/What-is-Whole-House-Retrofit-Dec2016.pdf
12. http://responsible-retrofit.org/wheel/
13.
http://files.site-fusion.co.uk/webfusion58199/file/
2015_bristolsolidwallinsulationguidance.pdf
15. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/22/section/2
16.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/
uploads/attachment_data/file/697629/L1B_secure-1.pdf
17.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/
uploads/attachment_data/file/794253/domestic-prs-minimum-standard-guidance.pdf
18. http://www.sdfoundation.org.uk/downloads/2017-06-John-Preston-original.pdf (see slide 4)
19. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-private-rented-property-minimum-standard-landlord-guidance-documents
20. https://www.spab.org.uk/advice/research/findings
21. http://www.cotac.global/conferences/conf11/
22. http://www.sdfoundation.org.uk/downloads/RESPONSIBLE-RETROFIT_FINAL_20_SEPT_2012.pdf
23. https://www.slideshare.net/BREGroup/colin-king-ecobuild-6-march-2014
24. https://passivehouseplus.ie/news/health/disastrous-preston-retrofit-scheme-remains-unresolved
25. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-growth-strategy
26. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/summary-for-policy-makers/
27. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-the-uks-contribution-to-stopping-global-warming/
28. http://files.site-fusion.co.uk/5a/80/5a80ceaa-eeb8-4a0a-92e3-1778d1022a59.pdf
29. http://files.site-fusion.co.uk/07/6f/076f998b-ef10-4a7f-9751-97c18cf591e9.pdf
30. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-technical-report/
32. https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/84013.html