‘City-wide or City-blind?’ An Analysis of

Emergent Retrofit Practices in the UK Commercial Property Sector

Tim Dixon, Professorial Chair in Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment, University of Reading

t.j.dixon@reading.ac.uk (www.retrofit2050.org.uk)

Who? – The ‘Regime’

Complexity

Fragmentation

Conservatism

‘ There’s a lack of communication cross the

supply chain in.. the construction industry… it’s

quite a conservative industry… there’s a lack of

willingness to handle larger scale products

…(or)…innovate (in) products that … come into the supply

chain’. (Government)

What? - Technologies

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‘Our members are supposedly the leading organisations in this area yet

they’re all finding they’re going to make at least 30% energy reductions in their buildings just by better management and turning things on and off when they’re supposed to be, tweaking controls, putting better systems in

place’. (Influencer)

Emergent technologies Lifts with regeneration drives which

recover energy that is usually discarded

as heat

Voltage optimisation

Phase change materials

Smart enabled devices with sensors e.g.

daylight harvesting, heat sensor map,

wireless pneumatic thermostats

Thermal server: an air source heat pump

which has been modified for ground

source and water source if necessary, or

heat recovery.

Transpired Solar Collector Source: Prologis

Low hanging fruit (20-40%pa) ….

LED Lighting…

Why?- Drivers

Policy and energy costs

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• Energy Act 2011 • Carbon RC EE • Building Regulations

• Risk-related depreciation of assets

• Lettability Owner

• Cost reduction

• Branding and marketing Occupier

‘There are so many different and disparate bits of policy that don’t really connect together. So we’ve got CRC, we’ve got Climate Rate

Change Levy, we’ve got EPCs, we’ve got DECs, (we’re)… about to get

carbon reporting, mandatory carbon reporting. And none of

these really connect together….’ (Investor/developer).

Policy Disconnections…

Why? – Barriers in the landscape

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‘If you put too short a timescale on it, then you eliminate some of the better technologies’. (Owner occupier)

‘That capital expenditure decision or request will

compete for capital with other forms of potential investment in the core business’. (Financier)

‘This is the area where it, this landlord/tenant piece starts to make retrofit a difficult thing. It’s easy, if the building’s come

back to us, it’s empty, we’re going to refurbish it ‘ (Investor)

Timescale/payback (falling lease lengths)…

Competing for capital…

Split Incentive…

Economic, organisational and lease structures

Issues of scale: ‘City-blind’?

‘We are kind of city blind. We do look at our portfolio, from a retrofit point of view we’ll look at our portfolio and say, OK, where can we get best bang for buck, if you like? ‘ (Investor/developer)

• Focus on asset management

• Ownership • Diversity/heterogeneity of

commercial property • Lack of ‘sticky’ infrastructure

Why ‘city-blind’?

‘Niche experiments’ (e.g. M & S; BBP; Deutsche Bank)

Policy & Practice implications

• Clearer definition of ‘retrofit’ and ‘refurbishment’ (‘renovation’)(RICS Guidance for Commercial Property Valuation): typically, ‘non-intrusive systemic upgrades’?

• Approved products/suppliers list

• Consistency in standards is needed at a number of levels (assessment (BREEAM/SKA) and M & V (IPMVP)

• Wider acceptance of soft landings, monitoring and POE

• Actual energy performance should be mandatory (DECs)?

• Better integrated leadership at city level is needed - through LEPs & developing ‘city visions’

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www.retrofit2050.org.uk

Thank you and with acknowledgements to EPSRC Retrofit Team