Archives

  • 2018-07
  • 2018-10
  • 2018-11
  • 2019-04
  • 2019-05
  • 2019-06
  • 2019-07
  • 2019-08
  • 2019-09
  • 2019-10
  • 2019-11
  • 2019-12
  • 2020-01
  • 2020-02
  • 2020-03
  • 2020-04
  • 2020-05
  • 2020-06
  • 2020-07
  • 2020-08
  • 2020-09
  • 2020-10
  • 2020-11
  • 2020-12
  • 2021-01
  • 2021-02
  • 2021-03
  • 2021-04
  • 2021-05
  • 2021-06
  • 2021-07
  • 2021-08
  • 2021-09
  • 2021-10
  • 2021-11
  • 2021-12
  • 2022-01
  • 2022-02
  • 2022-03
  • 2022-04
  • 2022-05
  • 2022-06
  • 2022-07
  • 2022-08
  • 2022-09
  • 2022-10
  • 2022-11
  • 2022-12
  • 2023-01
  • 2023-02
  • 2023-03
  • 2023-04
  • 2023-05
  • 2023-06
  • 2023-07
  • 2023-08
  • 2023-09
  • 2023-10
  • 2023-11
  • 2023-12
  • 2024-01
  • 2024-02
  • 2024-03
  • 2024-04

    • br Literature review Older buildings across Europe are

    2018-11-12


    Literature review Older buildings across Europe are key constituents of the existing building stock. In the UK, traditional buildings are categorized as pre-1919 (DCLG, 2010), and according to Coles et al. (2015) these were years when building regulations were completely updated. The traditional buildings are thus historically valuable buildings that align with the definitions presented by Urquhart (2007) and Drewe (2007) as having mass masonry (solid) walls with little or no insulation built into their fabric and have a single glazed window and high air infiltration levels. As part of the UK planning apparatus, in 1947, because of the value of these historical buildings, they became “listed” to protect their historic fabric and to ensure their appropriate conservation and preservation (English Heritage, 2004). The listing of historic buildings thus relates to their inner and outer configurations (i.e., windows, door, roof, walls) requiring planning permission before they can be modified and/or their essential nature or character can be changed. By 2014, 374,081 listed buildings are already in existence in England alone. The greater parts of listed buildings are of advanced age with essential and growing requirement for their constant repair and maintenance as their age increases. Given the era in which traditional buildings were constructed, different assumptions exist in relation to their properties, such as their ack1 inhibitors demand, energy use intensity, and total emissions related to their age. The assumptions are based on the premise that the age of these buildings influences their capacity to adapt the latest and the most efficient technologies (Coles et al., 2015). According to Levine et al. (2007), when the properties and the technologies they employed are older, their performance is less beneficial. However, this assumption has not been verified in the case of refurbishment and reuse of listed churches. In major cities and urban areas across the UK, most listed buildings are considered “hard-to-treat” buildings, such as churches, and warehouses. Coles et al. (2015) indicated that initial preliminary studies show that the “Listed Building Status” may represent a barrier to improving the energy performance of buildings most especially when they are introduced not only to newer technologies (e.g., solar panels, solar water heating, and wind turbines) but also to more modest measures, such as double and triple glazing (Coles et al., 2015). Improving the energy performance of these buildings could be argued to be relevant not only to the users and occupants of the buildings and their business operations but also to the existing stock of heritage buildings. However, the BSI 7913 (1998) encourages minimum intervention, a cautious approach to conservation, and energy efficiency improvement by not only putting the historic buildings into consideration but also into the larger environment. This idea is evident in BSI 7913 (1998, p. 7) which states that “in global environmental terms, the balance of advantage strongly favors the retention of existing building stock, particularly when performance in terms of energy consumption in use can be improved.” Accordingly, English Heritage (2004, pp. 3–4) gave consent to the improvement of energy performance by stating that “retaining existing elements of construction in old buildings and seeking to enhance their thermal performance in benign ways rather than replacing them is a heritage conservation principle in line with the concept of sustainability.” Thus, conservation principles support changes that could be made to historic buildings that would fulfill both energy and building conservation principle.
    Research design and methods
    Data analysis method
    Results and discussion
    Recommendations and suggestions The benefit of several energy efficiency interventions includes their ability to be integrated with the least interruption to the building׳s operation; one such intervention includes introducing systematic maintenance by incorporating them into strategic refurbishment plans. Thus, a reduction in operational energy becomes achievable without losing essential services. Meanwhile, baseline project planning, periodic updating, monitoring, and managing the energy use pattern are measures that could greatly facilitate better energy performance to optimize their sustainable reuse compared with the traditional approach of improving their thermal performance. Further areas of suggestions and recommendation include the following: