To retrofit the built environment for the future, you first need to know where you’re starting from, says Diarmuid Murphy, director of property at Murphy Geospatial
“It’s too hot!”, “we’re not built for this weather” and “it’s not like being in [insert favourite holiday destination]”. Sound familiar? Every year, we hear the same complaints, alongside weather warnings and public health announcements that tell us to take care of ourselves.
This problem doesn’t just extend to our personal comfort and health implications for the vulnerable. Our built environment shows its inefficiencies, and its decarbonisation is going to become hugely important, if not litigious, in the not-so-distant future.
According to RICS, 50% of residential and 39% of non-residential buildings in the UK were built before 1970 and were not subject to the more stringent regulations on energy performance that are now placed on buildings.
We took a fanciful look into what our towns and cities could look like if we employed some of the stay-cool methods adopted in other countries. While far-fetched, it’s an important discussion that needs to be had and the barriers to retrofitting need to be addressed.
We need to champion non-domestic retrofitting
Residential properties often take centre stage in the conversation about retrofitting. Largely because there’s more of them and the cost of their energy inefficiency hits us where it hurts – our own pockets.
However, to ignore non-domestic properties would be to ignore potentially huge energy savings, both in cost and energy expenditure. RICS estimates that retrofitting is predicted to result in an average energy saving of 12-16kWh/m2 for residential buildings and 33-34kWh/m2 for non-residential buildings.
The question is, who takes responsibility? These non-domestic buildings are rarely in the control of their original developer. Asset owners and occupiers have a list of financial outlays to consider, which often pushes energy efficiency down the list.
With bills rising, it might seem like now’s the time to retrofit the built environment and reap the benefits of cheaper energy. For many, that financial outlay is too much and the return on investment too slow. It’s cheaper and easier to kick the can down the road and take the incremental financial hit in monthly energy bills.
Mandate before it’s too late?
Due to tightening regulation surrounding the energy performance of properties in the UK, as well as the introduction of improved health and safety rules, older properties are at risk of becoming ghostly stranded assets. Unless forced to, and with budgets already stretched, the desire to futureproof is difficult to muster.
In April this year, changes to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in England and Wales affected commercial property landlords. The new measures aim to reduce carbon emissions from existing buildings, requiring properties to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E or higher.
However, more changes are coming soon. The government plans to enforce a minimum EPC rating of C by 2027 and B by 2030 for commercial properties. Additionally, new regulations following the Building Safety Act 2022 impact tower blocks and high-rises, with Phase 3 starting on October 1, 2023.
Landlords must take proactive measures for fire safety due to hazardous cladding, as over 9,793 tower blocks in England remain potentially unsafe.
How can you track improvements without knowing where you started?
Recordkeeping was not as valued as it is today. There are many buildings with only their original design, and sometimes not even that, as their only source of data. To track improvements, you must know where you started.
The importance of data and understanding about the built environment was brought into tragic focus following the Grenfell Inquiry. This resulted in new duties for building owners or managers to provide up-to-date electronic information about building floorplans, as well as the design and materials of external wall systems and any material changes to these walls.
Many buildings have lacked this information but now, there’s a ready launchpad for greater understanding of non-domestic buildings and their current energy performance.
Given so many assets are being interrogated due to lack of compliance with fire safety regulations this is the perfect opportunity to review and update the energy performance of buildings – minimising both disruption and costs.
Investing in a digital representation of building assets adds value to a property but also offers an accurate starting point for landlords or facility management teams to track energy performance and improvements.
A digital asset, such as a 3D laser scan, is considered as an intangible asset associated with the building. Think of it like a second-hand car. Would you rather have one with a full service history or take a gamble? It’s time to retrofit the built environment before we overheat entirely.
Diarmuid Murphy
Director of property
Murphy Geospatial
Tel: +44 (0)203 598 3775
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