One of the main topics at Ecobuild this year has been building retrofitting. This was triggered by the new government strategy “Warm Homes, Greener Homes”, which sets the ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions from UK homes by 29% by 2020. It is estimated that this will imply thermal upgrades in some 7 million households in 10 years. There was debate about the feasibility of this target, especially regarding the availability of resources from the industry, the tight timeline for training skilled professionals and the founding strategies to convince homeowners of large investments.

The series of seminars “Refurbishing Britain” gave some insights into the topic in general, including market issues, strategies, techniques and performance for different typologies, together with some case studies.

David Weatherall from Energy Saving Trust illustrated one key problem, the lack of interest and/or knowledge from the owners. The importance and the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for raising awareness and convincing the landlords was later illustrated by Nick Ridley from NCReal Estate Consulting. The EPCs are however controversial, because they give an idea of the potential efficiency based on “theoretical” (and mostly simplified) calculations and they relate to energy consumption per square meter, which means the bigger your house the more you can pollute. They also only focused on energy consumption, with related to the main topic of thermal retrofitting immediately raises the question of the payback periods.

Gavin Dunn from Elmhurst Energy illustrated the few really cost-effective measures that have an attractive payback period, up to 10 years. In most other cases this figure is omitted, like for the Sheffield Eco-terrace (some 60 years), and it is replaced by the percentage of energy savings (76%). This could seem very unfair and it gives the impression that retrofitting is not worth it, but it is probably the payback concept itself that it is not applicable for these cases.

Paybacks are normally compared with the high and fast returns that we are used to with the cheap oil economy. However thermal retrofitting looks beyond “Peak Oil” into an era of high energy prices scenarios when other investment alternatives will be less attractive. The capital is there in any case and this strategy will deliver far greater savings for the future (and prevent fuel poverty) many other alternatives, including subsidising the car industry. It is an effort we have to do as a society.

On the techniques side, there were new products (like aerogel insulation), but the solutions presented by the suppliers consisted on small improvements from the existing. However, they gave some insights into the practical problems, with a focus on the importance of getting a certified installer, which would also expand their services. The impression given is that any solution is good as long as it is well installed and certified. Any discussion on the potential problems is eliminated by the business dimension and any comparison between products is avoided, fearing legal problems.

From the case studies presented, which is always a pleasure to see, some were severely criticised, which illustrates the point that not everything that claims to be “green” is actually truly sustainable. However, sustainability is a learning process and every experiment is valuable, as long as it is not trying to claim that it is the perfect solution. There are infinite answers because sustainability is not a fixed target and should be defined in each case.

On the stands, the central piece from the entrance was a giant “green” cube. The smaller stands around were also focused on the green roofs and walls, which are more and more related to retrofitting to existing buildings, with solutions for pitched roofs that are extremely lightweight and resistant.

The Ecobuild exhibition is from Tuesday 02 to Thursday 04 March 2010 at Earl’s Court (London). I attended the 2009 exhibitions and it was full of innovative products and stimulating discussions and seminars. If you are in London during this period, don’t miss this exhibition.

Register online for your free invites else be prepared to stand at the end of a REALLY long queue.

To register for Ecobuild 2010, click here.