Energy improvements to Flagship Home
Lighting
Throughout the Flagship Home, light fittings have been installed which will only take energy efficient lightbulbs. As the Flagship Home was constructed in the 1800s, some of its units have very high ceilings, requiring the landlord to send out maintenance staff simply to replace lightbulbs. The use of energy efficient lighting – which has a much longer lifetime – means that the costs of maintenance are significantly reduced.
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Heating
The existing building had no fixed heating appliances. Typically the landlord would install an electric heater where needed. These were expensive to run and emitted a lot of carbon dioxide.
As part of the feasibility study we reviewed a number of options and decided that a central gas fired heating system was the most cost effective solution.
We installed two communal condensing gas boilers (Glossary Term)
supplying radiators in each bedsit and two hot water cylinders.
Each bedsit has a programmable thermostat so the occupant can set the temperature and operating times. This is an important feature particularly to those working long hours or shift workers.
The hot water cylinders are powered by a combination of solar power and gas. On hot days in the summer the solar power can provide all the building’s hot water requirements.
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Wall insulation
Because the building was located in a conservation area we could not get planning permission to add external wall insulation, for example stone cladding, to the front. There were also difficulties with the rear elevation so the only viable option was to use insulated drylining (Glossary Term)
All of the external walls were dry-lined with a 35mm thick insulated dry-lining achieving a U-value of 0.6W/m2K (Glossary Term)
(space limitations restricted the thickness that could be applied). This insulation will reduce heat losses through the walls by up to 65 per cent. In addition, to reduce thermal bridging or cold spots, the insulated dry-lining was continued along the party walls for one metre.
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Ventilation
To ensure that the building is free from problems caused by condensation and mould growth we introduced a new ventilation system. This provides a constant supply of pre-warmed, dry air and extracts stale, moist air which results from washing, cooking and such like.
The ventilation system allows for efficient heat recovery – this means the warm air that is being extracted from the building partly heats up the incoming cold air.
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Glazing
The building’s windows were in a poor state of repair. But aAs the property was located in a conservation area we could not get planning permission to replace the front windows with double-glazed ones. However, we were able to replace the rear windows.
We refurbished the front windows and added secondary glazing (Glossary Term) to prevent heat loss.
We replaced the rear windows with new wooden double glazed ones, the glazing includes a low emissivity coating and the gap between the double-glazing is filled with argon rather than air to help reduce heat losses. The new windows meet the requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations (Glossary Term).
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Appliances
The Royal Borough’s standards require that all bedsits have a small refrigerator, all refrigerators in the Flagship Home will be 'A' rated. (Glossary Term).
Renewable Energy
With 36 residents living in small, well-insulated individual units, the building
has a high demand for hot water compared to its demand for space heating. As the back of the building faces south-west, it provided an ideal location for solar panels which we use to help heat the building’s water. A solar water heating system has been installed which will provide on average 60 per cent of the tenants’ hot water needs. The system includes two 500 litre hot water cylinders.
We incorporated solar panels into the new roof design to ensure they were would not be visible from the street.
See also:
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