We provide detailed advice on Energy Efficiency and Insulation upgrades in Historic Buildings.
Energy Efficiency in Historic Building is going to increasingly become a big issue. The trend is to push for better thermal efficiencies and interventions into Historic Buildings and Listed Buildings.
There is great risk in retro fitting Historic and Listed Buildings with insulation and the process needs proper thought and assessment.
There are many methods of insulating older buildings which can lead to unwanted consequences , including condensation and moisture issues.
Are old buildings cold and wet ?
Absolutely not ! The following publications are consumer based guides to improving energy efficiency in older buildings;
SPAB. – Energy Efficiency in Older Buildings
Historic England – Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings
For a more technical advice note, Historic Scotland did some fantastic work on looking at a number of historic buildings types to look at the relative U Value and thermal efficiency. I would love this document to be expanded by Historic England and further research to be undertaken.
Historic Scotland – U Values and Traditional Buildings
The basic result is that, older buildings are simply not as bad as the commercial U Value figures offered will lead you to believe.
We also know from practical experience, that modern insulations (Polyurethane, Celotex , Kinspan and the like) simply do not perform as well as the data would suggest in many Historic Building applications.
The ultimate in sustainability
You simply cannot get more sustainable than a Historic Building constructed from locally sourced materials. Example – Here we have a 15th C Hall House having repairs to the infill panels. The Oak for the laths is from 3 miles away. The clay was dug locally and the Straw baled last year from a field a 10 min walk away.
Wattle and Daub and traditional materials sometimes have a hippie image. This absolutely should not be the case and these materials will increasingly have a place in our care of Historic Buildings.
