Categories
Guidance

Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide

LETI’s Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide shows how we can retrofit our homes to make them fit for the future and support the UK’s Net Zero targets.  We define energy use targets for existing homes and provide practical guidance on how to achieve them.  

The guide is useful for architects, engineers, Local Authorities, social landlords, energy professionals, contractors and clients looking for guidance about best practice retrofit.

It is widely accepted that retrofitting our existing buildings is absolutely critical if we are to achieve Net Zero.  Around 18% of our annual national CO2e emissions come from existing homes – homes that will still be standing in 2050. 80% of 2050’s homes have already been built.  It is also widely acknowledged that the retrofit challenge is monumental.  Over one million homes every year for the next 30 years will need to be retrofitted.  We cannot afford to retrofit them twice.  But if we retrofit them well, we can enjoy many environmental, social and economic benefits.

This guide sets out what good retrofit looks like for existing homes.   We target energy consumption reductions of 60-80% for the average UK home.  This is achievable through a whole house approach upgrading the building fabric, incorporating energy efficiency measures, improving ventilation and fitting heat pumps. These targets have been determined through practical experience and understanding of what measures are realistically achievable.  They are also informed by a national housing stock model to examine issues such as renewable energy provision and grid capacity. The guide also points out the potential risks of poor retrofit and advises on how to deliver efficient, resilient and healthy homes. 

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Quick start guide

The guide provides a quickstart guide to retrofit as well as typical house archetype examples for four primary housing types: semi-detached, detached, mid-terrace and a flat.  Click on the pages below for the quickstart guide and typical house archetype examples.

Author: LETI

Publication date: October 2021

Categories
Video

Good Homes 2020: Technologies and Solutions for Net Zero Homes

Content available for Good Homes Alliance members only.

If you are already a GHA member, please Log In or Sign Up for an account. Check our Member Directory to see if you are a member.

Find out the benefits of membership and sign up as a GHA member to access this content.

If you have any queries, please contact richard@goodhomes.org.uk.

Categories
Report

Electricity Storage: Pathways to a Net Zero Future

The Electricity Storage Network has released a report outlining the role storage can play in tackling the climate emergency. As the UK looks to a green recovery from the pandemic, the paper calls for a clear signal from government to set a trajectory for storage over the next decade which will help create jobs and economic growth while enabling the electricity system to become zero carbon.

The paper has been built from a broad evidence base, building on our extensive engagement with ESN members and wider industry, government, Ofgem and National Grid ESO. Regen has written two previous major reports on storage in 2016 and 2017 and this paper builds on those findings, aiming to give an overview of storage and its uses, a snapshot of where the industry has got to in 2020, and what needs to change if we’re to face up to the climate emergency over the next decade.

The paper outlines six key recommendations for government and industry to ensure we build a sustainable industry that allows storage to deploy at the scale needed to support the UK’s transition to net zero.

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Author: Regen

Publication date: June 2020

Categories
Tool

Hotmaps

The overarching goal of Hotmaps is the development of an open source heating/cooling mapping and planning toolbox and to provide default data for EU28 at national and local level. These data and tool allow public authorities to identify, analyse, model and map resources and solutions to supply energy needs within their territory of responsibility in a resource and cost efficient way. Those results will help authorities to develop heating and cooling strategies on local, regional and national scale which are in line with RES and CO2-Emission targets on national and EU level.

www.hotmaps-project.eu

Categories
Paper

Decarbonisation of heat

This paper proposes that whilst the exact pathway to decarbonising heat in the UK is not yet clear, there are a range of actions that could be taken in the next ten years to shift heat onto the right route to meet our 2050 net zero obligation. We already possess many of the skills and technologies required, but there are a number of significant barriers preventing a spontaneous movement towards low carbon heat on the scale required – a starting impulse is needed.

Energy efficiency and low carbon heating have the potential to radically improve the quality of life of not just the poorest in our society but all residents of the United Kingdom. With the right approach, the decarbonisation of heat can improve health outcomes for millions, create new jobs in manufacturing and construction, reduce air pollution in our cities and reduce the burden on our health service. This, in addition to leading the world in mitigating the climate emergency.

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Author: REGEN

Publication date: March 2020

Categories
Guidance

Climate Emergency Design Guide

We are in a climate emergency, and urgently need to reduce carbon emissions, this guide outlines the requirements of new buildings to ensure our climate change targets are met – setting out a definitive journey, beyond climate emergency declarations, into a net zero carbon future. It is specifically aimed towards developers/landowners, designers, policy makers, and the supply chain. It aims to help to define ‘good’ and to set clear and achievable targets.

The Climate Emergency Design Guide covers 5 key areas: operational energy, embodied carbon, the future of heat, demand response and data disclosure. Our methodology includes setting the requirements of four key building archetypes (small scale residential, medium/large scale residential, commercial offices, and schools). The guide was developed by over 100 LETI volunteers over a period of 12 months.

This guidance demonstrates that the building industry knows how we should be designing buildings. In 2020 buildings that adopt these requirements now will be seen as leaders. By 2025 these requirements must become standard design practice otherwise the building industry will not meet our collective responsibility in this climate crisis.

LETI believe that in order to meet our climate change targets, in 2020 10% of all new projects developers and designers are involved in, should be designed to meet the requirements set out in this guide.

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Author: LETI

Publication date: January 2020

Categories
Guidance

Services Guide

This good practice guide aims to improve the standard of building services in new homes. The information is aimed at SME builders and their advisors, but there will be parts relevant to other building professionals.

The scope is limited to focus on the major problems around design and installation of services that affect the comfort, indoor air quality and energy performance of new homes. The guide highlights “problems to avoid” showing common issues that contribute to the gap between intended and actual performance.

The “What to do” guidance provides useful solutions and tips for a successful design and installation. This guidance will aid the site and wider project team in the effective delivery of building services that perform as intended.


Author: Zero Carbon Hub

Publication date: July 2016

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