Retrofit results: disentangling the
role of the building fabric and the
occupants
Jenny Love
UCL Energy Institute
Presentation at NEF
21/10/2013
Introduction
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Modelled savings versus monitored savings
Modelling error
Imperfect installation of measures
Those pesky occupants…
‘Comfort-taking’
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Some non-evidence-based beliefs about retrofit
1. Model assumptions
Temperature
Time
2. When it doesn’t happen, blame…
Microeconomic theory
Effects of retrofit: on the quantitative
side
The energy you spent
to make T higher
The energy you could
have saved if you kept
T the same
Before
Qheating
After
Qpre
Qpost
Tpre
Tin-Tex
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Tpost
What is actually going on?
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
On the qualitative side
For example…
- Able to maintain a warmer and more
comfortable home
- Use of space
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
What can we learn from
combining quantitative
and qualitative data?
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
13 case studies
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Quantitative
Internal
temperature of
each room
before/after
Heating period
in each room
before/after
Methods
Qualitative
Activities at home
External
interventions/
organisations
Personal
background and
social context
How the heating is
controlled before/after;
Why heating before/after
Being in or out
Thermal comfort
Occupancy of the
room before/after
Mental and physical
health
Use of space
Family
Findings: overall outcomes
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Showing the difference in gradient, and thus the difference in Temperature Increase at
different external temperatures
What actually happened?
(and how do I know?)
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
What actually happened?
Example of a dwelling in which occupant did not do anything differently but the
heating system did
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Example of a dwelling in which the heating system did not do anything
differently but the occupant did
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Example of a dwelling in which the heating system did not do anything
differently but the occupant did
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
‘Demand Temperature’
(many different definitions)
INCREASED IN MOST DWELLINGS:
- But not for the reasons we normally state
INSTEAD:
- Lack of thermostatic control
- Not reaching setpoint temperature preretrofit
What about our beliefs about retrofit?
Model assumptions?
Temperature
- They do not operate the
heating system like that,
so more difficult to predict
the outcome
Time
Microeconomic theory?
- no
One implication:
Not surprising really
Heating use
change
Is it possible to achieve
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
Temperature change
The debate
Shallow retrofit
+
Behaviour
change
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013
VS
Deep retrofit
Questions?
Jenny Love
“Retrofit results: disentangling the role of the building fabric and the occupants”
October 2013