Exploring low energy dwellings – retrofit & design
The Assignment
You are an energy consultant who has been asked by a large registered private landlord company to make recommendations on how the houses they own and build can comply and achieve beyond new regulations. As an energy consultant with passion and interests in improving energy efficiency in dwellings you also plan to use modern materials and construction technologies to build an identical house to gain a view of how energy efficient it can be.
Task 1 – to recommend a detailed retrofit package that can help the company achieve
an EPC rating of B (from the current G rating). The improvement is for illustration
purposes, you do not have a budget limit, however, considerations on cost effective
measures are preferable.
Task 2 – The company intends to build a new development of 50 new houses all with the same massing (shape, form and size) as the house type used in task 1. The company wish the new development to achieve the BRE’s Home Quality Mark One Technical Standard to level 1 (The minimum pass level) and are seeking your advice on what this would involve and an explanation of the main steps they would need to undertake in order to achieve this. It should be noted that the company have not yet identified a site for these new houses as the development is in its early stages, but that they are likely to be in a city centre location and on a brownfield site. The new houses will also have to meet the same EPC rating of B.
Choose one particular house from the company’s property portfolio for your report. The company has a large portfolio of houses built from 1880s up to 1960s, including town houses, semi-detached, detached, bungalow, terraced houses, and their construction types include brick and block, timber frame, concrete framework, etc. Once a choice is made, it is required to indicate in your report about the characteristics of the chosen house, i.e. house type, construction types and built year.
For example, A brick three storey terraced town house built in 1880; A brick two storey semi-detached house built in the 1930’s which is now in a conservation area; A wood-frame detached bungalow (single story) built in the 1960s, etc. You can choose any houses built between the period in the UK.
