Journal of Architectural Engineering Technology
Open Access

Research Article

Energy Efficient Construction Methods in UK Dwellings

Ahmad H. Taki^* and Rachel Pendred

Leicester School of Architecture, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK

*Corresponding Author:

Ahmad H. Taki
Leicester School of Architecture
De Montfort University
Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
Tel: +44-116-257-7408
Fax: +44-116-257-7518
E-mail: ahtaki@dmu.ac.uk

Received Date: November 16, 2012; Accepted Date: January 05, 2012; Published Date: January 12, 2012

Citation: Taki AH, Pendred R (2012) Energy Efficient Construction Methods in UK Dwellings. J Archit Eng Tech 1:106. doi: 10.4172/2168-9717.1000106

Copyright: © 2012 Taki AH, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

This paper examines the thermal performance of housing in the UK and the associated costs for different fabric construction methods of the envelope for a typical four bedroom detached house. The energy ratings were assessed using the UK Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), which is based on the Building Research Establishment Domestic Energy Model. The capital costs were estimated from data published by the Building Cost Information Services applied to Leicester UK area in 2011. Through alterations to the dwelling fabric alone, a reduction of 30.1% in carbon emissions of the base property could be achieved. Standard methods proved to be as effective as alternative methods at reducing carbon emissions by 22.6% for an average capital cost increase of 9.1% against the base property. This was equivalent to an extra cost of £13.7 for each kg of CO₂ emissions reduction. It was found that alternative methods could reduce carbon emissions by 20.5% for an extra cost of 18.4% over the base property. The optimum construction method that would help achieve the UK government’s carbon emissions target was also discussed. The paper also discusses the methods for improving energy efficiency in new extensions to existing dwellings, using a typical solid-wall terraced house with a new single storey extension, as a case study. In this study, it was found that by increasing refurbishment costs by only 4.7% could result in carbon emissions reduction by 21.7%.

Keywords