The new white paper, ‘Stranded assets: A roadmap to net zero for new and existing buildings’ is designed to provide building owners and managers with more insight on the importance of setting up their buildings for net zero and describes methods on how they can achieve this.
“We’ve designed this guide to offer insights into current thinking on what Net Zero buildings are and where legislation and guidance on this issue is heading,” explains Chris Newman, Net Zero Design manager.
It also looks at the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that can help on the journey to Net Zero carbon emissions for both new and refurbished buildings. This includes the essential questions that clients should ask their design teams at the early stages of a project.
Strategies
Around 80% of the buildings we will occupy in 2050 have already been built. With owners of older properties facing significant costs associated with meeting higher standards for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) or disruption in switching from gas boilers to heat pumps, buildings are falling further behind environmental requirements every year.
This white paper therefore aims to help owners avoid their buildings becoming stranded assets by providing a roadmap to net zero.
The guide contains a number of sections assisting in bridging the net-zero knowledge gap for business owners, outlining the government’s net-zero plan, and showing what defines a net-zero building. The financial disadvantages to not choosing low-carbon technologies are also outlined, including the fact that 1.4 billion sq. feet of UK retail space may be unlettable by 2023 if these energy efficiency issues aren’t addressed.
As the UK currently relies heavily on fossil fuels to heat and cool buildings, decarbonising the HVAC systems in buildings is an incredibly important step. The Stranded Assets guide provides advice on installing heat pumps and utilising heat recovery in the decarbonisation of heating and ventilation, along with tips on adopting low GWP refrigerants.
“With rising building standards brought in to help the industry reach net zero, we’re seeing large numbers of spaces potentially becoming redundant due to energy inefficiency,” said Mr Newman. “Building owners must now confront the fact that a lot of current stock is in danger of becoming stranded assets unless they tackle these issues head on. Whether a building is still at the early design stage or is an existing and occupied space, the best time to plan for a net zero future is now.”
The roadmap features questions that managers should be asking themselves and their partners in the building and planning process, considerations that must be made when working towards net zero, suggestions for sustainable replacements, and tailored advice for specific HVAC equipment.
The Stranded Assets white paper can be downloaded for free from:
Stranded Assets Paper