6 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HARD TO TREAT PROPERTIES
6.1 Solid Wall Properties
Treatment of solid walls will require some form of thermal barrier being placed at the wall surface either internally or externally. The thicknesses required of conventional insulation make it problematic for internal insulation as it would result in significant loss of internal space. Research is on-going to identify materials that could provide equivalent performance in much thinner applications.
The deployment of external wall insulation will of course change the appearance of the dwelling but in many instances this can be beneficial. The application of solid wall insulations is non-trivial and will require significant preparatory and finishing work.
It is possible to identify alternative technological intervention sets that do not require treatment to the external wall. These are likely to produce savings of approximately 30-50% depending on the dwelling in question. Clearly, this is not sufficient for solid wall dwellings to contribute their full quotient of savings required to meet national targets. The shortfall would have to be met from increased savings in other dwelling types or from other sectors.
These intervention sets require greater than 10 individual interventions and the complexity of delivering this scale of change is significant. The success of an intervention set approach will be predicated to some degree on the management of the number of transactions expected of a householder. The intervention sets are expensive and so the economic case can be made for their adoption must be clearly articulated. Alternative ways of stimulating their uptake therefore have to be explored. These should include:
- Making homes more comfortable and healthy places to be in, with knock-on benefits to the community at large, etc
Answers to the question"How do we ensure people prioritise expenditure on lowering the energy costs of their housing?"need to be sought
- Reducing the number households in fuel poverty in order to meet Government targets
- Safeguarding households at risk from fuel poverty against future energy price rises
Justification for this expenditure may also be viewed as a marketing exercise where answers to the question "How do we ensure people prioritise expenditure on lowering the energy costs of their housing?" need to be sought.
6.2 Tenements
Tenements pose some of the most complex problems for reducing the energy consumption of Scottish homes, however their preponderance in Scotland's housing stock and the range of cost efficient savings that can be made from treating them mean that there they are a strategically important cohort for consideration when policies and schemes for refurbishment of hard to treat stock are developed.
Tenement undergoing renovation, Glasgow
Tenement occupants are increasingly being required to enter into factoring agreements for general maintenance, and where these exist it should be easy to extend them to include carbon factoring. The numbers of tenements signed up to these agreements has a degree of regional variation and therefore councils with low proportions of factored tenements, e.g. Edinburgh, should be encouraged to develop and promote factoring services with carbon factoring as standard. Even where carbon factoring exists it is likely to cover only shared elements of the building and so could be extended to include offering energy audits for individual flats. Carbon factoring and individual audits could be used to provide residents with simple information on the costs and benefits of improving the energy efficiency of both shared spaces and flats, and simplify the process of appointing contractors for the work. Where certain improvements afford more savings to some floors and less to other factoring is a useful option for impartially attributing costs to residents. Howeve, as effective improvements such as loft insulation are already covered by 100% grants under the Warm Deal scheme this may not even be an issue.
The 2004 Tenements (Scotland) Act should be a useful lever for improving the energy efficiency of tenement blocks, as it removes the need to gain agreement from all residents for any work to be carried out. As the Act also makes provision for extending management / factoring schemes to all tenements the Scottish Government now has all the necessary measures in place to begin an aggressive scheme to ensure that this objective is met as soon as possible. A future amendment of the Act could be used to ensure carbon factoring is added to all existing agreements and included as standard in all new ones. Carbon factoring could then be used as a mechanism to ensure that all Scottish tenements are brought up to the recommended energy efficiency standards and that all households are offered energy audits.
Carbon factoring could then be used as a mechanism to ensure that all Scottish tenements are brought up to the recommended energy efficiency standards
The problem of reducing heat losses through windows and glazing needs particular attention due to the conservation regulations that apply to many tenements and because double or secondary glazing is generally not covered by grant schemes. Although double glazing is costly and not suitable for all tenements there is a clear case for a new scheme to promote appropriate forms of secondary glazing, and case studies have shown that this is likely to be very popular with residents.
In the longer term the density of tenements makes them ideal candidates for local micro- CHP projects as well as for installing solar thermal panels and micro-generation technologies such as photovoltaics and micro-wind turbines. However, it should be stressed that the greatest immediate gains can be made from energy efficiency and changing household behaviours.
6.3 High Rise Properties
Although high rise properties account for only 3% of the total building stock they are the most expensive and difficult to refurbish for technical and non-technical reasons. In the stock of any authority with a number of high rise blocks some will be considered to be in too bad a condition to keep and many are already being demolished in larger cities. Refurbishment is not always the best option.
The solutions to the improvement of these blocks have to date in Scotland fallen into two camps. In Edinburgh and Glasgow, the practice of over-cladding the blocks is favoured. This involves the improvement to the walls, roofs, glazing and floors of the block with system improvement for the heating and energy supplies.
In Aberdeen the city council has chosen, through the auspices of an arms length housing company, to develop a number of CHP plants to supply cost-effective heat and power to the blocks. In doing so they have built up and refined an expertise that has led to cost reductions and knock on benefits in the local market place.
High rise block, Glasgow
The larger high rise housing blocks are of such a scale they can effectively be used to develop and consolidate skills and expertise and build market transformation in the larger region.
The importance of controlling energy use in tower lifts and in water pumping systems should not be overlooked when planning refurbishments.
In order to decide on where best to invest in such schemes better tools are needed to help decision makers to evaluate alternatives. EDEN is a new tool that is being developed by ESRU at Strathclyde University that may prove a key development for decision makers.
The importance of the social aspect of the improvement of the high rise environment has proved crucial in controlling energy use in public spaces and lifts and nowhere is the link between management and energy use clearer than in high rise housing. Plans for refurbishment should contain detailed sections on the social management and spatial planning of residents within the blocks.
6.4 Timber Frame Properties pre-1982
Older timber frame walls can effectively be treated as for solid wall properties, and so external or internal cladding is recommended as the most effective solution for reducing energy consumption and emissions. When fitting this insulation advice should be sought as to the most appropriate material and how to ensure that the wall is ventilated to prevent the build up of moisture.
6.5 Flat Roof Properties
Although only a small percentage of properties have flat roofs, those that do can incur significant heat losses through them. Wherever possible, these should be treated by adding insulation in the form of a warm deck flat roof. Where this is not possible, adding a cold deck flat roof or internal insulation applied to the ceiling should be considered.
6.6 Properties with Mansard Roofs
The most effective treatment option for mansard roofs is to apply blown fibre behind the tiles of the lower section of the roof. As this requires the removal of the tiles, it must be carried out during a period of dry weather, and therefore any new schemes to target mansard-roofed properties for this improvement need to bear in mind that Scottish weather will be a limiting factor. The upper sections of mansard roofs can be insulated in a similar manner to normal sloping roofs (assuming there is sufficient access to fit insulation) and internal wall and ceiling cladding is also applicable.
6.7 Park Homes and Residential Mobile Homes
Park Home in South West England
Legislation is needed to mandate all landlords of park and mobile homes to fit approved insulation to their properties, with emphasis on mobile homes and park homes constructed pre-1996. The Scottish Government's Warm Deal grants schemes could be extended to cover improvements to these homes (as is the case for disabled access grants). Further gains can be made from insulating pipes, ensuring seals around windows and doors are maintained to high standards, installing energy efficient appliances, and in some cases more significant interventions such as double glazing and roof modifications.
The improvements in efficiency resulting from the 1995 British Standard demonstrate that one of the most effective methods to reduce emissions from park homes is to legislate for them to be constructed with high minimum levels of thermal efficiency, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for later interventions. The 2005 revision of the Standard has improved the minimum thermal efficiency requirements but given the relatively inexpensive measures available to reduce heat losses through walls and floors it would seem reasonable for these to be tightened further. However as park homes are invariably manufactured in England and Wales this would require support from Westminster.
Going beyond energy efficiency, the energy demand and location (often off-grid and exposed) of many park and mobile homes makes them ideal candidates for using renewable micro-generation systems such as solar photovoltaics and micro-wind.
6.8 Improvements Applicable to All or Most Hard to Treat Properties
The benefits of maintaining and improving windows and glazing go beyond reducing a property's energy demand and so many homeowners who have the means to do so need little encouragement to make repairs and upgrades. However the two most effective measures (double and secondary glazing) are relatively expensive and the legacy of the changes in tenure of many Scottish homes and the current financial climate indicate that many households will be deterred from making those investments. Yet grants for repair and upgrading of windows and glazing are invariably only available for historic properties.
Double glazing is not an option for many Scottish homes categorised as HtT and therefore investing money in schemes to promote further uptake would seem to be of limited value. Yet the evidence gathered for this report suggests that this would not be the case with secondary glazing, which case studies have found to be very popular amongst householders. Furthermore, as secondary glazing comes in a wide variety of forms, not all of which are appropriate for all properties, trialling a combined information campaign and grant scheme could have real and measurable benefits both in terms of reducing residential emissions and improving comfort levels in HtT homes. The results of such a trial would also help close a knowledge gap by producing evidence to inform better guidance on the effectiveness and technical feasibility of the different options.
Draughtproofing is a much cheaper measure, although technical issues apply to many older windows, and some grants are available through the Scottish Government's Warm Deal scheme. Installing or reinstating internal shutters may be an effective option for some properties but the evidence suggests that where this is of real value it is already supported by grants for historic properties.
A potentially very effective option would be to combine the trial suggested for secondary glazing with additional information and allowances for repairs and draughtproofing to produce an all-in-one offering that should appeal to residents and landlords of a large proportion of HtT properties.
All properties with gas central heating systems would benefit from replacing boilers with modern and efficient condensing models and those with electric heating would benefit from upgrading to the latest, most energy efficient models. All households should be encouraged to have their heating systems serviced annually. Maximising the level of control households have over their heating has been shown to enable more optimal use of energy, although this is easier for gas central heating systems than electric ones. Grants are already available for most of these and the expansion of these schemes should be encouraged.
The Scottish Government may wish to consider leading the way with a trial programme for installing smart meters
Replacing traditional tungsten light bulbs with low energy light bulbs is a cheap way of making savings on electricity, and many energy suppliers and energy efficiency centres offer these at low or no cost. Upgrading appliances to A-rated and above models (or more energy efficient ones where they are not currently covered by energy labelling) will also reduce consumption, but as this is an expensive option for households on low incomes it is worth considering offering subsidies to the poorest households.
Smart meters look set to be recommended a the forthcoming UK Government review and so the Scottish Government may wish to consider leading the way with a trial programme, perhaps in partnership with energy suppliers and Scottish universities.
Micro and community CHP also offer means of reducing emissions from the Scottish housing stock, as well as from council premises, and therefore should be considered as part of any long-term planning strategy.
Solar thermal and micro-generation systems are becoming attractive to some householders, although planning and conservation legislation can be barriers to their uptake. In light of the drive to reduce emissions from Scotland's housing those responsible future revisions of any such legislation may wish to consider where it can be relaxed to support the uptake of these technologies.
Our homes need to become buildings that we live with, rather than just buildings that we live in.
Finally it should be emphasised that all the savings noted in this report can be increased further if householders can be encouraged to make simples changes to their behaviour. In the long term this means a cultural shift so that actions such as reducing unnecessary heating use, switching off lights when leaving a room, and switching off appliances rather than leaving them on standby become unconscious behaviours. Our homes need to become buildings that we live with, rather than just buildings that we live in.