Abstract
Building surveys of existing properties can be useful when considering thermal upgrade . One aspect of the performance gap, when thermally refurbishing an existing property, is a miscalculation of its performance prior to intervention. If better than expected and the performance following intervention is worse, then gains and pay-back periods will be unfavourably affected. Additionally, some individual aspects may be identified which preclude certain design decisions. To assess the performance there are four levels of inspection: a desktop assumption, a brief visual visit, a short condition assessment , and a full building survey with initial performance testing taking some hours or even days to determine actual construction and performance rather than theoretical. One prerequisite assumption for thermal upgrade design is that the property construction and condition is known to the extent of the fourth level of survey, whereas in practice, only a desktop assumption or brief visual inspection may have been made. Resources of time, money and size of estate are usually restricting factors on the level of survey undertaken. The requirements of an initial survey have been explored. This would determine where the construction, materials, and condition of the property may impact on its pre-works performance and where these may adversely affect its performance following the thermal improvement. Specific reference is made to moisture levels in the construction. Standard levels of survey are compared and assessed against the information required for effective thermal improvement. A protocol for an initial survey assessment of a property’s construction, condition and performance is offered.
Smith, M. (2015) Building surveys to inform assessment of initial conditions in a property prior to thermal upgrade In; Gorse, C and Dastbaz, M (Eds.) International SEEDS Conference, 17–18 September 2015, Leeds Beckett University UK, Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society.
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Smith, M. (2016). Building Surveys to Inform Assessment of Initial Conditions in a Property Prior to Thermal Upgrade. In: Dastbaz, M., Gorse, C. (eds) Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32646-7_11
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