Part of the BRE Trust
Refurbishing public buildings: a UK perspective Richard Hartless
BRE Academy
7th June 2016
Scope
• UK public building stock
• Barriers and incentives
• Faltering steps to zero carbon
• Schemes to encourage sustainable refurbishment of
non-domestic buildings
• nZEB refurbishment of a public library using public
sector finance
UK public building stock
• 86,000 buildings
• Floor area: 140 million m2
• Social housing not
included
UK public building stock
• Key message: wide variety of building types and built forms due to
broad age range, wide variety of construction and hence very
different energy performance levels
•Stone walls
•Solid brick
•Pre-cast concrete
•Rainscreen cladding
Walls
•Flat timber
•Pitched timber
•Sheet metal Roofs
•Solid concrete
•Suspended timber Floors
•Single glazed
•Double
•Wood, metal, uPVC frames Windows
Display Energy Certificates for public buildings in E&W
Example office types
Typical energy consumption in offices
Barriers to nZEB buildings in UK
Drivers for nZEB buildings in UK
EP requirements for existing buildings in UK
• Existing public buildings covered by Part
L2B to the Building Regulations in England
(equivalents in Wales, Scotland and N
Ireland)
• Must meet minimum EP requirements when
‘building work’ is undertaken, e.g.
Change of building’s use
Extension to building
Work on thermal element (wall, roof, etc.)
Replace controlled services (heating, lighting
etc.)
• Estimate that buildings only refurbished
once every 25 years and current EP
requirements do not demand nZEB
Tightening of EP (Part L) requirements
100
7569
100
75
60
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2006 2010 2013
Dwellings
Non-domestic buildings
-25% -25%
-8%
-20%
Faltering steps to zero carbon
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
• Zero carbon
homes proposed
• ZCH established
• Revisions to EP (Part L)
requirements
• New homes
proposed
zero carbon
• ZCH
closed • Allowable
solutions
postponed
• 2016 Part L
revision
cancelled
• Definition of
zero carbon
refined
• New public
buildings
proposed
zero carbon
• Allowable
solutions
proposed
???????
Is zero carbon too expensive?!
• Latest addition to BRE’s Innovation Park is the Zero Bills house
where the cost to construct (1,700 Euros/m2) compares
favourably with cost to meet current EP requirements!
Non-domestic policies
• Climate Change Levy (CCL) - Tax on the supply of electricity,
gas and coal for use as fuels (for lighting, heating and power) by
business consumers. High energy using sectors can reduce CCL
payment by agreeing to saving targets under a CCA
• CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) – This is a mandatory
scheme aimed at improving energy efficiency and cutting
emissions in large, but non-energy intensive, public and private
sector energy users. It encourages organisations to prioritise
investment in energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions through
mandatory standardised monitoring and reporting of energy
consumption and the publication of emissions data
• Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) - Places a new
legal requirement on large enterprises to conduct energy audits
which meet the requirements of Article 8(4) and Annex VI of the
Energy Efficiency Directive
BREEAM Our internationally recognised measure
of a building’s sustainability helps drive
sustainable performance and value.
www.breeam.com
Whole life assessment
What is BREEAM In-Use?
• Online environmental assessment method for existing (in-use) non-
domestic buildings
• Holistic approach
• Internationally recognised
• Independent third-party certification
Can be used worldwide (excluding NSO territories)
BREEAM In-Use: An International Scheme
BREEAM In-Use registered assets (May 2014)
BREEAM In-Use Assessment Sections
• The performance of the asset’s built form, construction, fixtures, fittings and installed services
Asset Performance (Part 1) – Building owner
• Assessment of how the building is managed
Building Management (Part 2) – Building manager
• The management of building users and services
Occupier Management (Part 3) – Building occupier
Key sustainability categories measured
Management Health &
Wellbeing Energy
Transport Water Materials
Waste Land use &
Ecology Pollution
BREEAM In-Use aims to…
Change behaviour
Reduce running costs
Improve staff productivity
Demonstrate commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Provide a genuine badge of proven sustainability
Protect and enhance asset value
Assess and monitor building and management improvements
Benefits of BREEAM In-Use
Improvement planning
‘The [BREEAM In-Use] assessment has mapped our progress so far
and highlighted areas for future focus in our drive for continuous
improvement.’
Howard Parsons, Project Manager
10 Downing Street
BREEAM for Refurbishment and Fit-out
• Focus on non-domestic retrofit
• Minimum EPC targets
• Reduce operating costs and risk
• Assessed only on issues that can be
influenced
• Still stretching targets and
organization.
Scheme structure
• Four distinct Parts for assessment
• The modular structure allows a mix and match type approach
• Certification against the parts relevant to their scope of work
• Flexible to apply.
Base build issues Fit-out issues
Case study - One Southampton Street, London
A 90 year old building in a conservation area,
requiring improvement in accessibility, energy
efficiency, IT/services, staff facilities.
All eight floors refurbished as open plan office
space, taking advantage of natural light with
new glazing throughout. The floors were raised
for new services including ‘local’ air
conditioning, allowing access to be made DDA
compliant. Staff transport needs were
addressed with showers on each floor, and
both cycle spaces and lockers.
Achieved BREEAM Excellent rating
– highest ever for a UK office refurbishment
JB Priestley Library refurbishment for the University of
Bradford
• Constructed in 1970s the library was an inefficient building in terms of
energy use
• The University had earmarked the building for refurbishment and
secured HEFCE and Salix funding. Funding was awarded on the
basis of the proposal to raise the building from rating of “D” to “A”
• The scheme is being used as a benchmark project by HEFCE as an
example of sustainable development and is proof that it is possible to
transform outdated buildings and that refurbishment is a realistic and
viable option to re-building
Library refurbishment
• Insulation – fabric insulation is approximately three times thicker
than the standards required by building regulations, and the library
has been made air-tight
• Ventilation – the mechanical ventilation delivers fresh air to match
occupancy. The system is mixed mode and BMS has the capacity to
open and close windows automatically to improve comfort
• Passive cooling – ‘solar chimneys’ have been created within the
atria for cooling and a large concrete core provides thermal mass to
moderate fluctuations in internal temperature
• Improved daylight - each floor has been designed so that occupied
areas are in the lightest parts of the building around the light wells
and windows. Book shelves have been designed so that light can
pass into those areas where it is most needed
• Renewable heat – biomass boiler has been installed to supplement
conventional heating sources
JB Priestly library
JB Priestly library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IEiLfDWL2l
• The first year of operation showed a decrease in gas consumption
of 73% and an 18% reduction in electrical consumption
• The Display Energy Certificate (DEC) rating for the library has
been raised from Band E to B at a fraction of the cost of a new
build library
Conclusions
• Wide variety of public buildings but significant scope for energy
savings from nZEB refurbishment
• Barriers arising from lack of legislative drivers and no clear
definition of nZEB
• Public sector meant to be an exemplar for private sector to follow
and there are legislative requirements and financial incentives (e.g.
no/low cost loans, reduced VAT etc.) to improve energy efficiency
• Voluntary schemes to monitor and facilitate sustainable
refurbishment of buildings
• We are seeing some examples of nZEB!