For domestic refurbishments of a certain scale Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council require the project to be assessed under BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment. At the planning stage Southwest Environmental can produce a planning level strategy report to satisfy planners.
The property in question was a large terraced house, with planning sought for a large basement to incorpertae a swimming pool and gym.
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| SAP Rating Before Refurbishment |
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| SAP Rating After Refurbishment |
Detailed SAP calculations were carried out to assess, the energy consumption and the building before and after the refurbishment. BREEAM requires decreases in energy consumption in order to score points.
Unlike a new build project, a refurbishment starts at a disadvantage as there a numerous physical constraints, also in listed buildings there is the outward appearance to consider although allowances are made for this in the BREEAM Assessment Methodology.
Kensington and Chelsea require that 40% of the overall score come from sections relating to Energy Consumption and Water Consumption. It is thought that the specification of CHP scored very well in these areas allowing much freedom in other challenging areas such as fabric energy efficiency.
As always Southwest Environmental recommend airtightness as a cost effective solution that rarely inhibits appearance and design. Airtightness is a very important factor in the Passive House Standard, where extreme levels of energy efficiency are delivered.
