Deep renovation of historic buildings: The IEA-SHC Task 59 path towards the lowest possible energy demand and CO2 emissions
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation
ISSN: 2398-4708
Article publication date: 18 September 2019
Issue publication date: 22 July 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Improving the energy performance of historic buildings has the potential to reduce carbon emissions while protecting built heritage through its continued use. However, implementing energy retrofits in these buildings faces social, economic, and technical barriers. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to present the approach of IEA-SHC Task 59 to address some of these barriers.
Design/methodology/approach
Task 59 aims to achieve the lowest possible energy demand for historic buildings. This paper proposes a definition for this concept and identifies three key socio-technical barriers to achieving this goal: the decision-makers’ lack of engagement in the renovation of historic buildings, a lack of support during the design process and limited access to proven retrofit solutions. Two methods – dissemination of best-practice and guidelines – are discussed in this paper as critical approaches for addressing the first two barriers.
Findings
An assessment of existing databases indicates a lack of best-practice examples focused specifically on historic buildings and the need for tailored information describing these case studies. Similarly, an initial evaluation of guidelines highlighted the need for process-oriented guidance and its evaluation in practice.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel definition of lowest possible energy demand for historic buildings that is broadly applicable in both practice and research. Both best-practices and guidelines are intended to be widely disseminated throughout the field.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their gratitude to the IEA-SHC and EBC Executive Committees for supporting the Task59/Annex76. The authors are especially grateful for the financial support from the European Regional Development Fund under the Interreg Alpine Space programme to the Project ATLAS (ID: ASP644) and the Swedish National Agency under the E2B2 programme, also wish to thank all the experts in the Task59/Annex76 for their valuable contributions.
Citation
Herrera-Avellanosa, D., Haas, F., Leijonhufvud, G., Brostrom, T., Buda, A., Pracchi, V., Webb, A.L., Hüttler, W. and Troi, A. (2020), "Deep renovation of historic buildings: The IEA-SHC Task 59 path towards the lowest possible energy demand and CO2 emissions", International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 539-553. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-12-2018-0102
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited