A new report by sustainable development consultancy Arup is calling on city leaders to take a localised or neighbourhood approach with retrofit solutions to meet UK net zero goals.
Since June 2022, all new residential buildings in the UK have had to comply with updated regulations. These include designs that are highly efficient, minimising the risk of overheating and are powered in a carbon-efficient way.
That’s all very well for newbuilds, but most homes in the UK were built before 1919 and by design are not energy efficient. Indeed, the majority are still powered by carbon emitting gas boilers.
According to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), buildings and infrastructure account for nearly 25% of UK greenhouse gas emissions – and domestic buildings are the largest contributor.
The UK government’s English housing survey 2019-2020 also found that over three-quarters of household energy demand was for space and hot water heating.
Retrofitting our homes has for a number of years been seen as one of the most cost-effective routes to reaching net zero targets.
According to Arup, deep retrofits and refurbishment of existing housing stock will not only bring about carbon savings, but also protect these buildings from the increasing climate change risks we will face in the future, such as flooding and overheating.
While some landlords including city and local authorities as well as housing associations are aware of these issues and are already working towards upgrading their existing housing stock, this really needs to happen at scale.
In its latest Cities Intelligence publication, Retrofit at scale, Arup looks at the benefits of taking a neighbourhood and localised approach. According to the consultancy, this will not only help the UK meet net zero targets, but will also deliver safer, healthier and more sustainable outcomes for communities.
The report outlines how retrofit can improve thermal comfort and health, build energy security, minimise carbon emissions and protect against the impacts of climate change.
“With local authorities under more pressure than ever before, it’s clear a fresh approach to retrofit at scale is required to harness the most benefits for local communities and drive accelerated action,” said Becci Taylor, director and Arup Retrofit at Scale business leader UKIMEA.
“Improving health and social equity as well as the quality of homes while reducing carbon means retrofit at scale is a critical approach to meeting national net zero targets,” she added.
The report calls for:
- Recognition of retrofit as the single biggest tool to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment.
- A shift from retrofit being seen as a technical problem to a whole system approach that integrates different disciplines.
- A shift from focusing on single buildings towards a whole street or neighbourhood approach.
- Adopt a people and community approach to design and delivery with end-users at the heart of the design and build process.
The IET published its own report a few years ago – Scaling up retrofit 2050 – which looks at why a nationwide programme to upgrade the existing housing stock is the only way for the UK to achieve its carbon-saving goals.
In terms of improving the energy efficiency of our public buildings, today the UK government announced a £557m investment to help public buildings, including schools and hospitals, make energy-efficient upgrades such as installing heat pumps, solar panels, insulation and low-energy lighting.
Businesses with high energy use will also receive new support to cut their bills and carbon emissions with £27.5m in government funding.
“From school corridors to the businesses that power up our economy, we want to make sure buildings of all shapes and sizes are supported to deliver net zero,” said minister for energy efficiency and green finance Lord Callanan.