| Planned occupancy | Two Adults, 3 young Children |
|---|
| Space heating strategy | Heating from gas fired boiler. Following decent homes retrofit, system will be properly balanced using thermostatic radiator valves and programmed to optimally meet the residents use. |
|---|
| Water heating strategy | Solar hot water (with gas condensing boiler back up). No electric resistance heating. |
|---|
| Fuel strategy | Mains gas. Mains electricity with solar photovoltaic array. |
|---|
| Renewable energy strategy | Solar Photovoltaic - 2.3 kWp (13 panels) to be installed and grid connected. Solar Thermal - 8m2 flat plate solar collector facing south west with its own solar pump |
|---|
| Passive Solar strategy | No physical changes are planned to increase solar gains. |
|---|
| Space cooling strategy | Natural ventilation using openable windows and trickle vents. |
|---|
| Daylighting strategy | Not applicable as WHISCERS solution doesn't impact or interfere with daylight. |
|---|
| Ventilation strategy | Trickle vents on windows which can also be opened to provide increased ventilation in summer. |
|---|
| Airtightness strategy | Air tightness tests will be carried out before to identify main air leakage points. Building fabric holes will then be sealed including chimneys, passive vents, floorboards and skirting boards. |
|---|
| Strategy for minimising thermal bridges | Continuous insulation maintained throughout. |
|---|
| Modelling strategy | Whole house modelling with residents / tenants in situ. We modelled the building performance using three software approaches for completeness but also to take into account weaknesses in some of the recommended software. We chose the measures for the full specification house using the Parity Home Energy Masterplan software so that we could assess the house both in terms of its physical attributes, the capabilities of the existing building services, the lifestyle of the tenants and actual weather data for the location. SAP does not use realistic weather data and cannot account for the way that the tenants use the house, and PHPP seems to consistently overestimate the existing energy used in the house. We have carried out assessments, both before and after, using PHPP and SAP to provide comparison data. The file named "Retrofit_Ph2_ModExt_ZA157H.xls" provides a summary of all of the analysis achieved for this building for all software approaches for comparison. |
|---|
| Insulation strategy | The process has 6 steps: 1. Laser Survey. A property is surveyed using Laser Cloud technology (a new surveying method that accurately captures a three dimensional space such as a room, with typically well over one million data points in less than 2 minutes, and then can easily be manipulated to produce plans, elevations etc.) which quickly plot over a million data points in three dimensions within 3 mm, so that all physical data is captured at one moment, without opportunity for error. Data is merged into a whole house digitised dwelling. This process enables badly uneven walls, which are common in old houses, to be acuratley mapped. 2. VALUE-CARBON Assessment method. We will use bespoke Home Energy Masterplan software based on BREDEM12 and CIBSE approved calculations to identify the most appropriate set of measures for the house. This assessment program is currently in prototype form and will be used to apply a series of possible interventions in a predetermined order, b... |
|---|
| Other relevant retrofit strategies | Most retrofit measures are manufactured off site, or require little accurate site fit (e.g. loft or cavity insulation), and nearly all measures can be applied with occupants in place. One big exception is solid wall insulation, which is currently carried out on-site, producing mess, noise, hassle and requires occupants to vacate rooms and dwellings. The Whiscers system will avoid all this by the precision prefabrication of insulating boards off-site, which are then fitted on-site quickly and with no mess. This allows occupants to remain in place, and reduces site time and costs. The board cutting precision is achieved by laser cloud measurement of rooms, with the data then used to auto-cut the boards. Costs can be reduced by shorter site time, less operative costs and less rework. Whiscers offers a quicker, better and cheaper way of insulation and thus... |
|---|
| Contextual information | The challenge is to mass-produce one-off solutions for individually retrofitting 500,000 houses per year for the next 40 years. Most retrofit measures are manufactured off site, or require little accurate site fit (e.g. loft or cavity insulation), and nearly all measures can be applied with occupants in place. One big exception is solid wall insulation, which is currently carried out on-site, producing mess, noise, hassle and requires occupants to vacate rooms and dwellings. The Whiscers system will avoid all this by the precision prefabrication of insulating boards off-site, which are then fitted on-site quickly and with no mess. This allows occupants to remain in place, and reduces site time and costs. The board cutting precision is achieved by laser cloud measurement of rooms, with the data then used to auto-cut the boards. Costs can be reduced by shorter site time, less operative costs and less rework. Whiscers offers a quicker, better and cheaper way of insulation and thus... |
|---|
