The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy consulted on these proposals and the IHBC Consultation Panel welcomed the reduction in the U-values for solid wall construction but suggested that old buildings may need to be treated differently to modern constructions.
The Panel’s main findings include:
- The document does not consider that old buildings may need to be treated differently to modern constructions. A ‘one size fits all’ approach is unlikely to work in practice
- The document makes no mention of the research by the Society for the Protection of Ancient, Historic England and Historic Scotland where actual solid-walled buildings were tested and found to behave very differently than computer-modelled solid walls
- We especially welcome the reduction in the U-values for solid wall construction. We are glad to see this progress in accepting that historic buildings perform better than has previously been suggested and that retrospective insulation may not be so cost effective or necessary.
- Clarification is required on the ‘apparent cost-effectiveness’ comment and how use of ‘in-use factors’ on Government schemes may be adjusted to affect cost figures.
View the full IHBC response
