Reducing CO2 emissions through refurbishment of non-domestic UK buildings

Recent research by the Tyndall Centre in the UK has suggested that a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions will be required by 2030 to mitigate the worst impacts of global climate change. In the UK, approximately 11% of CO2 emissions are attributable to non-domestic buildings. Of the UK non-domestic stock that will be present in 2030, approximately 75% will have been constructed before 2005. Consequently, refurbishment of existing buildings is likely to strongly influence whether these emissions reduction targets are met. This paper catalogues interim research outcomes from a research project (TARBASE) whose aim is to identify technological pathways for delivering a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions of existing UK buildings by 2030. This investigation describes the approach as applied to the non-domestic sector. The approach taken was to describe a series of non-domestic building variants, chosen due to their prominence in the stock as a whole and also by their ability when taken together to describe the range of construction methods found in UK buildings. Technological interventions, grouped by building fabric, ventilation, appliances and on-site generation (of both heat and power) as applied to the building variants were investigated. Their applicability was determined with respect to energy and CO2 emission savings. Emerging research findings from the application of this deployment methodology to mitigation and adaptation strategies for the existing built environment are discussed.