The 4.5-year, €6.3m, scheme which is just concluding could pioneer in both countries major retrofit schemes to cut carbon consumption and to enlist the support of residents to increase energy efficiency.
The 100 homes retrofitted in Kent were matched by a similar number in France and monitoring the performance of these homes has led to an holistic view of issues that will be involved in country-wide retrofit projects, according to Professor Mike McEvoy, from the university’s School of Architecture and Design. He is co-ordinating the Innovation for Renewal (IFORE) project which was financed by the European Regional Development Fund’s Interreg IVA programme.
He said: “Rather than opting for a readily-quantified purely-technical solution IFORE has involved the two communities in achieving the best outcomes, not just for energy saving and the reduction of fuel poverty but also to improve comfort and living conditions, to provide employment and to increase the cohesion of communities.”
IFORE’s housing association partners, AmicusHorizon in England and Pas-de-Calais Habitat in France, relied on a balance between technology and engagement with the local residents to implement their retrofits.
Professor McEvoy said: “Earlier studies have shown that up to 60 per cent carbon reductions can be achieved using conventional means such as insulation, making houses more air-tight to limit draughts, and using more efficient boilers.
“The UK and European target is, however, 80 per cent reduction by 2050 when most of the existing building stock will still be with us.
“To achieve the final 20 per cent gets progressively more difficult if technology alone is to be the answer. The way people live is, however, a major determinant of the actual savings achieved. Buildings famously don’t live up to expectations because of the lifestyles of their inhabitants.
“These aspects are a lot more difficult to measure but with the assistance of the social scientists attached to the project this difficult question is one that IFORE has addressed.”
He said carbon was less of an issue in France due to the preponderance of nuclear power but fuel poverty, the rising price of energy, and indoor comfort are major concerns. He said. Pas-de-Calais habitat have prototyped a dry-assembly factory-made cladding system with insulation made from recycled clothing collected from charity shops. “The system is designed for rapid application to limit the disruption to neighbourhoods. The results have been favourably received by the inhabitants of Outreau, the study area for IFORE, which is on the outskirts of Boulogne.”
Professor McEvoy said the English retrofit of houses, at Rushenden on the Isle of Sheppey, had transformed what had been considered a run-down neighbourhood: “AmicusHorizon housing association have installed a team throughout the project engaging with individual households to reduce their energy profile, and with nearby schools and students to raise awareness.”
He said a 'Green Doctor' went door-to-door befriending and encouraging the locals, and providing answers to questionnaires profiling their range of lifestyles: “The need for every retrofit project to include a Green Doctor has been established by IFORE’s huge success in transforming not only the physical appearance of Rushenden but the recorded increase in satisfaction of its residents who engaged enthusiastically with the project’s goals.
“Rushenden is also providing a home for a range of technologies; the benefits of heat pumps, solar panels on roofs, and a trombe wall (a device to capture the sun’s energy and provide free heating) are being monitored.
“At both sites a novel solution has been used to the ventilation problem that has beset condensation-ridden public housing – ‘Supply-air’ windows that use air circulation between the panes of glass, rather than sealed double glazing, to provide pre-heated draught-free air to rooms. The windows have been tested and their performance analysed in the laboratory of the French academic partner Université d’Artois, before fabrication by a leading French manufacturer and installation throughout Outreau.”
Professor McEvoy said IFORE had paved the way for major retrofit projects through Britain and France, with support from residents: “They now have a warmer feeling of belonging to their community, feel more confident about job search, and community cohesion has been fostered.”