Retrofitting Historic Homes ‘Could Save Up To 84% In CO2 Emissions’

Retrofitting the country’s historic homes could save up to 84 per cent in carbon emissions, important because England has one of Europe’s oldest building stocks in Europe. A fifth of all homes are over 100 years old and buildings are the third biggest producers of CO2 emissions in the UK, accounting for 13 per cent.

In order to hit the 2050 zero emissions goal, it will be necessary to retrofit the existing building stock, which includes historic sites. A new report from Historic England and Heritage Counts has suggested that taking care to retrofit these properties, significant amounts of CO2 emissions could be saved.

To meet the carbon neutral goal, the country’s existing historic buildings will have to be recycled and reused, instead of demolished and new ones built, so the embodied carbon will not be lost. Demolishing sites produces millions of tonnes of waste, while building new comes with high energy costs and uses up lots of resources.

The report shows that retrofitting historic homes could see CO2 emissions reduced by up to 84 per cent in a detached Victorian property, 62 per cent in a Georgian terrace, 58 per cent in a 1900s terrace, 56 per cent in a semi-detached Victorian and 54 per cent in a Victorian terrace.

Chief executive of Historic England Duncan Wilson said: “From small behavioural changes to larger energy efficiency improvements this new research demonstrates that we can greatly reduce the carbon footprint of our precious historic homes, whilst maintaining what makes them special.

It can be difficult to know where to begin with historic renovations, however, and you may have to adhere to a variety of different rules and regulations to ensure that the significance of the property is maintained. If you need any help or advice relating to listed building restoration or similar, get in touch with Ovolo London today.