RE:NEW Risk management tool for low-energy housing retrofit

Feb. 27, 2015 - PRLog -- Fuel poverty is one of the most important issues facing British households, today. In 2012, the number of households in fuel poverty in England was estimated at around 2.28 million, representing approximately 10.5% of all English households (DECC Fuel Poverty Report 2014 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-fuel-poverty-statistics-report-2014)). With rising fuel costs, it is critical that homes are refurbished to make them more energy efficient to relieve some of the stress on family budgets. The Greater London Authority has committed to supporting low-energy refurbishments on homes owned by local authorities and housing associated in the London boroughs.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) established the RE:NEW Support Team (https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/environment/tackling-climate-change/energy-efficiency/re-new-home-energy-efficiency), funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and operated by Capita  to help local authorities and housing associations in London assist their residents by retrofitting homes. As part of this work, Six Cylinder Ltd led a specialist team, including Rickaby Thompson Associates and ArchiMetrics Ltd, to create a risk assessment process to evaluate the technical risks of different retrofit measures used for low-energy domestic retrofits. The process is uniquely aimed at evaluating and addressing the risks when various retrofit measures are combined and explaining the technical risks of retrofit in plain English.

The assessment toolkit includes a triage risk matrix to plot retrofit measures against each other with respect to the degree of their technical risk. Each retrofit measure has its own inherent risk rating and a rating when combined with any other measure. A risk score from 0, indicates measures have little or no impact on one another, whereas 3, indicates measures have inherent vulnerability and require careful design and execution. The matrix also shows which measures should be considered together, and which should never be used in combination.  At the design level, the matrix enables you to assess which measures work well together and which combinations will have inherently higher risks and may require specialist support to ensure that this risk is mitigated.

An example might be a housing association planning to upgrade a housing estate to make it more energy efficient. The designer has advised a set of measures including external wall insulation, loft insulation and draught proofing and the installation of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). Each of these initiatives has inherent risks in isolation. However, in combination, the risks can be amplified. The insulation improvements will mean there is a higher risk of under-ventilation, which could lead to condensation problems and air quality issues. As such, it is vital to ensure that the new mechanical ventilation system provides adequate ventilation to the entire home. The matrix and risk assessment process allows the design to continue safely and efficiently from the earliest possible stage. The assessment toolkit also includes Retrofit Watch Points, a list of high-level considerations for the Assessment, Design and Installation and Handover Stages of the project, as well as plain-English tips for key things that need to be considered with each retrofit measure.

For further information on the RE:NEW Support Programme please see GLA's website  www.london.gov.uk/renew or contact Matt James at Matt.james@capita.co.uk

Six Cylinder is a specialist consultancy in building performance, who support design teams achieve their sustainability goals. Providing robust feedback on the in-use performance of buildings and estates, Six Cylinder closes the feedback loop on what works, what doesn’t, and help to improve the design, construction and operation of low-energy buildings. Delivering a range of services that span the entire delivery and operation of new and retrofit buildings and low-energy buildings, including; Soft Landings support, post occupancy evaluation, building performance evaluation, retrofit coordinator services, BUS occupant surveys, client design advising and research management. For more information please see http://six-cylinder.co.uk/

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