Low Energy Buildings Database

SOLAR HOUSE 80/50

Construction type	Masonry Cavity	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	Mid Terrace	Sector	Public Residential
Location	Aylesbury Buckinghamshire	Project owner	Places for People
Retrofit for the future	ZA638A

Solid wall Victorian house in Conservation Area - 80% carbon emission reduction through whole house upgrade approach using innovative technologies

Existing: Solid brick walls; pitched & monopitch tiled roofs; original sash windows; Proposed: External walls insulated & dry lined; Roof insulation increased to 350mm; Insulation inserted below hall, living & dining room floors; Front windows modified to take vacuum glass; New sash windows to rear elevations; High efficiency gas boiler with flue gas heat recovery serving radiators; LED lights, 50k hours guaranteed max light output; sun pipes to f/floor landing; Split vent system with decentralised whole house vent in the rear & natural vent via chimney flues in the front; 2.8kWp PV and 3.0m2 thermal panels; Shower water heat recovery; Reduced water consumption; Smoke alarm systems; AA++ appliances; Smart metering with display

Construction type	Solid Brick	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	Semi-Detached	Sector	Public Residential
Location	London London	Project owner	East Thames Homes
Retrofit for the future	ZA125G

Solutions for a Holistic Optimal Retrofit (SHOR) - 1980s urban end of terrace house

The project takes a team based approach aiming to develop an integrated, technologically robust, people focussed approach to the retrofit.The house is owned by Charter Housing Association and was built in 1989. It is located within the city of Newport in South Wales and is an end of a terrace 2 storey house with a lounge, kitchen, two bedrooms, bathroom and a garden. Three adults live in the house. Energy savings have been made through modifications to the form and space, fabric and systems in order to achieve 80% carbon reductions required. The works were undertaken during the summer of 2010 and the tenants remained in situ.

Construction type	Masonry Cavity	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	End Terrace	Sector	Public Residential
Location	Newport Newport	Project owner	Charter Housing Association Ltd
Retrofit for the future	ZA439S

South Chingford - Ascham Homes: low carbon refurbishment of typical London 1960s street property

This project seeks to maximise the inherent qualities and opportunities the property has in order to radically improve its thermal performance.The building envelop is to be markedly enhanced through the application of high performance external thermal insulation (incorporating Vacuum Insulation Panels where possible), windows and doors. In addition, actions will be taken in order to ensure that airtightness is reduced to levels well below current building regulation recommendations for new properties. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery will allow effective and energy efficient ventilation of the property whilst providing consistent indoor environmental quality.

Construction type	Masonry Cavity	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	Mid Terrace	Sector	Public Residential
Location	South Chingford London	Project owner	Breyer Group PLC
Retrofit for the future	ZA424P

Tackling Solid Walled Voided Properties - Optimising Internal Wall Insulation Solutions.

This project is addressing the key barriers to internal wall insulation (disruption to occupiers and loss of living area) to by installing a new, thin, super insulation (Spacetherm) to social houses in the void process (empty between tenancies) along with other internal work to identify the marginal cost. We will assess the carbon performance of 3 properties fitted with different combinations of measures; one property to be insulated with Spacetherm (floor as well as walls) and heated with an ASHP and PV (ie test the thin IWI with a low temperature heating system), one property to be insulated with Spacetherm and heated with a combination boiler and the third property to be insulated with cheap but thick IWI product and a system boiler.

Construction type	Stone	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	Mid Terrace	Sector	Public Residential
Location	Wakefield (most likely) West Yorkshire	Project owner	Yorkshire Housing
Retrofit for the future	ZA391Y

Thamesmead Retrofit House

This highly ambitious project aimed to refurbish a pre-cast concrete panel end terrace in the Thamesmead Estate, South-East London. The team created an innovative, robust and replicable refurbishment solution, which cut 80% of the dwellings carbon emissions, achieving high levels of comfort at attractive costs. The property was transformed from a four bedroom hard-to-treat property into a six bedroom super-insulated home supporting a 7-person family. The scheme includes external cladding, triple glazing and high levels of air tightness. Fresh air is provided by a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR). Ten photovoltaic (PV) panels and a vacuum tube collector on the roof provide renewable electricity and water heating. A gas boiler is provided to meet the peak heating load. A key innovation is a highly-insulated solar-air heater containing a super-insulating aerogel cover integrated into the external insulation on the south faade pre-heating the MVHR on cold sunny days.

Construction type	Concrete frame	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	End Terrace	Sector	Public Residential
Location	Thamesmead London	Project owner	Fraser Brown MacKenna & Buro Happold
Retrofit for the future	ZA275R

The Natural Refurbishment of 1960 Laing Easiform System; Housing Study of the application of natural Hemp Insulation and Fuel Cell Technolgy

The Easiform system was in production until early 1970's providing 90 000 units. Proposals are the for natural refurbishment of the Easiform house type. It proposes a combination of natural Hemp insulation, a Fuel Cell CHP boiler and Stainless Steel Vacum Insulated Panels (VIPs) applied to a semi. Hemp Fibre is used as an external render system (u-value 0.16W/m2K) on walls together with low u-value doors and windows achieving an airtightness of 1m3/h.mm2, while maintaining the breathability of the wall. Feasiblity and SAP confirm an annual CO2 emissions total of 17kg/m2. A CHP gas boiler incorporating 1kW fuel cell will generate electricity. The SS VIPs panels provide gnd flr insulation using a thin panel.

Construction type	Other	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	Semi-Detached	Sector	Public Residential
Location	Cymbran Torfaen	Project owner	Melin Homes
Retrofit for the future	ZA451G

The Oxford Whole House Carbon Reduction Project

Low energy and low carbon retrofit of a typical 19th century end terrace house to achieve carbon emission reductions above 80%.This reduction is achieved by following a whole house approach and prioritising low energy demand through fabric improvements first, followed by tried and tested low/zero carbon systems to achieve an estimated 85% reduction in carbon emissions as compared to the existing house. The methodology has incorporated a user centred approach and has been informed by a thorough, pre-retrofit monitoring and feedback survey for the selection of appropriate strategies.

Construction type	Solid Brick	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	End Terrace	Sector	Public Residential
Location	Oxford Oxfordshire	Project owner	Ridge and Partners LLP
Retrofit for the future	ZA398Y

Thermal Store retrofit pilot

The project aims to retrofit a typical 1940s cavity constructed home without the need to decant tenants. It reduces lifestyle energy costs through the application of occupant awareness, best in class smart appliances, together with building fabric measures to achieve predicted reductions in CO2 emissions of 81%. The project pilots the use of a novel application of solar thermally recharged ground bores Thermal Store Retrofit Pilot for a heat pump based heating and hot water system. This has only been used in the UK on a novel commercial application. Building fabric measures additionally include external insulation with a brick slip finish and improvements in constructional airtightness by attention to quality of workmanship on site.

Construction type	Masonry Cavity	Project type	Refurbishment
Property type	End Terrace	Sector	Public Residential
Location	Redhill Surrey	Project owner	Raven Housing Trust
Retrofit for the future	ZA428E