Sustainable Design & Construction
Exploring low energy dwellings – retrofit & design. 5000 words.
Section 1 – Introduction:
• A brief introduction explaining why the work on the chosen house needs to be done in terms of sustainable development and global warming;
• A description of why the house is so energy inefficient and what are the primary reasons the house is at such low EPC rating;
Section 2 – The EPC B upgrade:
• A detailed description of the chosen measures (with appropriate illustrations of the measures or technologies) and how each measure used can be integrated into the building and how they work together to achieve a B rating (including installation details where applicable);
• A calculation that shows the annual saving to householder bills, the overall cost of the package of measures, and the annual payback over time.
Section 3 – The new build :
• A detailed appraisal of the process which must be undertaken by the company in order to ensure that it can secure the desired BRE Home Quality Mark One Technical Standard level 1 (The minimum pass level) for its new build development.
• Advise the company on how the Home Quality Mark One Technical Standard includes assessments of the surroundings around any proposed development and how this might ultimately influence the company’s choice of site if the level 1 rating is to be achieved, bearing in mind the expectation that the site will be brownfield and located in a city centre.
Section 4 – Behaviour change:
Explain how additional energy saving might be made by the way both the retrofitted house and the new build house are managed and the range of ways that behaviour alone can reduce energy consumption.
2.3 Additional Information
In order to complete the economic calculation, you will need to establish a typical current annual energy bill for the chosen house type. You may need to make an assumption on this, however, your assumption needs to be supported by evidence, i.e. what makes you think the energy bill is at that level by providing the reasoning.
