Retrofit and decarbonisation strategy for estates

While the focus on decarbonising the UK's building stock often centres around the domestic market, the non-domestic sector is just as crucial to achieving a Net Zero future. Non-domestic buildings such as NHS estates, educational institutions, university campuses, government buildings, offices, and heritage assets are a key focus, as older buildings are often highly inefficient. These require constant heating, with energy leaking through poorly insulated envelopes, resulting in significant carbon emissions and financial costs.

Challenges in Non-Domestic Buildings: Many non-domestic buildings require substantial cooling loads, even in the UK’s relatively mild climate. This highlights inefficiencies in how these buildings handle both heating and cooling, pointing to the need for smarter design that reduces energy consumption.

Managing and upgrading large estates can be daunting, with various departments, building types, construction methods, and mechanical systems to consider. Our team has assisted key clients in creating long-term strategies and roadmaps toward Net Zero. These strategies span years, if not decades, and include securing funding, prioritising which buildings to upgrade, and determining the appropriate extent of intervention based on budget and program.

Key Considerations for Decarbonising an Existing Estate

• Assessment of Organisational Needs: Start by understanding the organisation's current and future needs, especially in a post-COVID world. This ensures the decarbonisation strategy aligns with operational goals and stakeholder priorities.
• Assess Current Conditions: Once organisational needs are clear, evaluate the physical state of the buildings. Determine which buildings can be repaired, reused, or require significant upgrades. This helps identify priority areas.
• Spatial Analysis: After understanding needs and assessing conditions, consider space utilisation. Look for opportunities to consolidate departments, free up space through digital archives, or identify underused buildings for repurposing or leasing.
• Funding & Carbon Reduction: With a clear understanding of organisational needs, conditions, and space analysis, begin preparing business cases for funding. Demonstrating energy and carbon savings can help secure grants and funding to drive development.
• Retrofitting for Energy Efficiency: Address inefficiencies in buildings with targeted retrofitting, extensions, or remodelling. Ensure upgrades meet standards like LETI or EnerPHit, and are compliant with most up to date fire safety regulations.
• Low Carbon Heating Solutions: As part of the retrofit, consider transitioning away from gas boilers. Evaluate options such as air/ground source heat pumps or district heating systems.
• Adaptability & Future-Proofing: While upgrading, design with adaptability in mind. Ensure spaces can flex to meet future organisational needs, such as through multi-functional rooms or optimised scheduling for reduced space requirements. Flexibility can also be integrated into facades, glazing, renewable energy, external spaces to help meet net zero.
• Sustainability Goals: Align the retrofit with broader sustainability goals, such as Net Zero. Incorporate biogenic materials and low-carbon technologies to reduce embodied carbon and operational emissions.
• Staff Engagement & Building Use: Engage with staff to understand how work patterns have shifted post-COVID. This ensures the retrofit adapts to how spaces are now used and avoids wasted energy from heating/cooling underutilised areas.
• Working Patterns & WFH: Similar to staff engagement, consider whether spaces are being underused due to changes in working patterns. Leasing out unused portions of the estate can provide financial support while reducing energy usage.
• Renewable Energy & Biodiversity: Once the main retrofit plan is in place, look to maximise the estate's potential by utilising roof or ground space for renewable energy generation (solar, heat pumps) and enhancing biodiversity for staff well-being.
• Design Excellence: Throughout the design and implementation process, work collaboratively across client, design, construction, and operational teams using defined sustainability criteria, to ensure holistic and cohesive sustainable solutions. This can lead to practical, innovative and enduring ‘real world’ sustainable outcomes.

A Legacy of Net Zero

Estates don’t need to have a huge backlog of maintenance tasks. Net Zero ambitions present an opportunity to create a legacy of environmentally conscious buildings. Our roadmaps can assist with managing carbon budgets, securing grants, and enabling a phased, thoughtful approach to upgrades.

Retrofitting isn’t easy, but with the right mindset and design team, your estate can feel brand new—ready to meet the challenges of the future while reducing its carbon footprint.