Low Energy Victorian House
Refurbishment
11 April 2008
This project aims to show how Victorian dwellings
can be refurbished to address both heritage and
energy so that future generations can take pride in
their architectural heritage without seeing them as
an environmental burden
Conserving Buildings and/or Energy?
• 56% of housing in London is of solid wall
construction.
• Much has heritage value. (60% of Camden is
within Conservation Areas)
• Solid wall houses on average have almost
double the emissions of those built to current
Building Regs.
17 St Augustine’s Road
• Owned by Camden
Council who are
refurbishing it for
social housing
• The project will centre
on 17 St Augustine's
Road a Victorian
house in a
conservation area.
• It will aim to reduce
emissions by 90%
based on normal use.
The project
• UCL will monitor the house during construction and
occupation.
• It will link to other low energy house projects including 73
Chester Road, Camden & 78 Carshalton Grove, Sutton.
• Funded by Camden Council and Urban Buzz.
• Support from Sustainable Energy Academy and Kingspan.
• The Council’s conservation & urban design team are
involved & English Heritage has contributed to initial work.
• Steering Group includes: SDC, GLA and SEA
Interesting Challenges
Thermal Bridges galore
Surreal and idiosyncratic
decor
Dynamic Tension Emissions/Conservation
• Emphasis on Emissions Reduction
“Decisions such as the design of the wall insulation should
not be being made by heritage consultants without
involvement from people with expertise in building physics
and engineering. (Conversely, decisions about heritage
should not be being made by engineers without the
involvement of people with heritage expertise - but there is
no immediate risk of this.)
• Emphasis on Building Conservation
“full compliance with the energy efficient requirements of
the Building Regulations would unacceptably alter the
character or appearance of the building”
Reducing Energy Use - Proposals
• Double glazed windows
1.5W/m2K
• Floors
0.20 W/m2K
• Sloping Roof
0.11 W/m2K
• Flat roof
0.20 W/m2K
• Wall insulation to
0.20W/m2K
• 6m2 Solar Thermal
• 3.5 KWp Solar PV
• Localised Heat Exchange Ventilation
Technologies considered
• Secondary glazing using vacuum double glazing
to 1.0 W/m2K
• 3,000 litre rainwater harvesting
• Ground Source Heat Pump
• Wood wool insulation conductivity 0.04 W/mK
• Over cladding side and rear
• Whole House Heat Exchange Ventilation
Impact of energy efficiency measures
Annual Emissions 17 St Augustines Rd
Tonnes
CO2/year
20
Total inc Electricity
18
CH&HW
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Basic
Minimal action
Conservation
maximum
Boiler, w all
glazing PartL
DG hign
insulation
DG high
Triple G
insulation plus basement only
3.5 kWp PV
All triple glaze
Impact of energy efficiency measures
Energy Costs Existing house
Energy Costs –
Low Energy house
Costs
cost
tonnes CO2
• Solar PV
£25,000
1.4
• Solar Thermal
£8,000
0.5
• Double glazing
£24,000
1.3
• Roof Insulation
£6,600
3.4
• Wall insulation
£11,000
3.3
• Leakage reduction
£2,666
1.0
Dissemination & Research
• Urban Buzz funded research conducted by UCL
– Monitoring of temperature and humidity in walls
– Pressure and Co heating test
– Survey of fuel use by neighbours
– Seminars on low energy refurbishment
– Promote debate.
Construction starts Jan 2008
We didn’t expect the
bricks to come off.
Cornicing?!!!?
Sorry English Heritage
Insulation going in
Lots of insulation
and training.
Insulation what it looks like 1
Don’t forget the space
between the floors and
ceilings.
Its air leakage
stupid.
Insulation what it looks like 2
How do you fix the
bog to the wall?
Is there ever too
much insulation?
A few questions to mull over
• How much will it cost to make 60%-90% emission
savings in all the solid wall houses in the UK
stock?
• Who will pay for it?
• What is Heritage?
• Whose Heritage is it any way?
Chit Chong, Energy & Sustainability Manager (Acting)
chit.chong@camden.gov.uk