The industry is failing to engage with the most important stakeholders in any given retrofit project — the occupants.
Research from building services testing, intelligence and research company BSRIA has revealed almost all construction professionals believe occupant behaviour plays a defining role in the operational efficiency of buildings.
Despite this, 76% of respondents admitted they are not prioritising post-occupancy assessments to ensure retrofit measures actually meet original design intentions.
At the user side, more than half of consumers are still unfamiliar with the phrase ‘retrofit’ and just one-third of homeowners believe retrofit can reduce energy consumption. Around 50% are unclear on how these steps can impact carbon targets.
However, Downing Street has already pledged £13.2billion to boosting energy efficiency in existing homes thought the Warm Homes Plan, with retrofit the main priority. Meanwhile, 62% of the industry considers retrofit as a far more effective approach than new build projects.
According to a study by the University of East London, there can be an occupant behaviour can make a huge difference to a building’s real world performance after retrofit work has taken place. By some measures, the discrepancy can be up to 300% without engagement and education on best practices for users after the handover of keys. The result can significantly impede and erode efforts to maximise energy efficiency, rendering some element of the project all-but useless.
‘For housebuilders and developers, the handover of a retrofitted home can’t be the end of the story: implementing measures alone is not enough. Performance issues emerge when occupants don’t fully understand low-carbon systems and indoor environmental controls, leading to higher running costs and missed targets,’ said Tom Garrigan, Executive Director at BSRIA.
‘While there has been progress in some areas of the market, it’s critical that the wider industry prioritises occupant education to ensure that homes work for people in practice, not just on paper,’ he continued. ‘This doesn’t just apply to retrofit projects, either. With the Future Homes Standard approaching, residents in both new builds and refurbished buildings will require greater support to confidently manage longer heating cycles, responsive controls, and new approaches to comfort and efficiency.’
Image: Greg Rosenke / Unsplash
More Energy & Net Zero:
Efficiencies over new technologies: UK energy policy and demand
Efficiencies over new technologies: UK energy policy and demand
Efficiencies over new technologies: UK energy policy and demand