Energy retrofit and occupant behaviour in protected housing: A case study of the Brunswick Centre in London
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Publication Date
2014-05-26Journal Title
Energy and Buildings
ISSN
0378-7788
Publisher
Elsevier
Volume
80
Pages
120-130
Language
English
Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Ben, H., & Steemers, K. (2014). Energy retrofit and occupant behaviour in protected housing: A case study of the Brunswick Centre in London. Energy and Buildings, 80 120-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.05.019
Abstract
This study examines the impact of behavioural and physical variables on the energy saving
from retrofitting protected housing. Protected housing in England is referred to as ‘listed’
housing managed by English Heritage. The result of the study demonstrates that balanced
approaches can be developed to retrofit listed housing by taking into account occupant
behaviour factors, to meet the requirement of both energy efficiency and heritage
conservation. A case study of the Brunswick Centre in London shows that the highest
household energy use can be 2.2 times higher than average consumption. According to the
modelling results from Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) software, the impact of
positive behavioural change ranges up to 62% to 86% of the total potential savings in the
tested dwellings, where the lower behaviour change effect is associated with a higher retrofit
level. However, rebound behaviour could offset estimated energy saving from physical
improvement. Based on the findings, a framework of intervention measures is developed,
which demonstrates that the proportion for behavioural change and building technology
varies with respect to household energy use level. In summary, this study shows that in listed
housing behavioural change has the potential to bring substantial energy saving far exceeding
that from physical improvements, and thus tackling behavioural change plays a pivotal role in
developing integrative strategies for listed housing retrofit.
Sponsorship
EPSRC (EP/E040748/1)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.05.019
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/246280
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