All Outputs (35)

Retrofit assessment: Getting it right from the start (2024)
Journal Article
Fitton, R., & Swan, W. (2024). Retrofit assessment: Getting it right from the start. Journal of Building Survey, Appraisal and Valuation, 12(3), 208-217

The UK has some of the oldest buildings in Europe. They are also some of the worst performing in terms of energy performance. In tandem with these issues the UK has committed to making a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions. UK homes are currently... Read More about Retrofit assessment: Getting it right from the start.

A Practitioner Study into the Variability of Domestic Energy Assessments (2023)
Journal Article
Gledhill, T., Swan, W., & Fitton, R. (2023). A Practitioner Study into the Variability of Domestic Energy Assessments. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-10-2022-0167

This paper focuses on the assessment of a domestic property’s energy performance status by a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA), to ascertain the possible underlying reasons for variability in the results of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). By var... Read More about A Practitioner Study into the Variability of Domestic Energy Assessments.

Domestic smart metering infrastructure and a method for home appliances identification using low‐rate power consumption data (2021)
Journal Article
Paraskevas, I., Barbarosou, M., Fitton, R., & Swan, W. (2021). Domestic smart metering infrastructure and a method for home appliances identification using low‐rate power consumption data. IET Smart Cities, 3(2), 91-106. https://doi.org/10.1049/smc2.12009

The deployment of domestic smart metering infrastructure in Great Britain provides the opportunity for identification of home appliances utilising non-intrusive load monitoring methods. Identifying the energy consumption of certain home appliances ge... Read More about Domestic smart metering infrastructure and a method for home appliances identification using low‐rate power consumption data.

Urban cooling : which façade orientation has the most impact on a microclimate? (2020)
Journal Article
Taleghani, M., Swan, W., Johansson, E., & Ji, Y. (2021). Urban cooling : which façade orientation has the most impact on a microclimate?. Sustainable Cities and Society, 64, 102547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102547

Deploying solar reflective materials on urban surfaces is known as an effective heat mitigation strategy. Several studies have shown their cooling impacts; however, most of them have focused on rooftops rather than facades. The novelty of this paper... Read More about Urban cooling : which façade orientation has the most impact on a microclimate?.

Air pollution in a microclimate; the impact of different green barriers on the dispersion (2019)
Journal Article
Taleghani, M., Clark, A., Swan, W., & Mohegh, A. (2020). Air pollution in a microclimate; the impact of different green barriers on the dispersion. Science of the Total Environment, 711, 134649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134649

This paper studies the impact of different green barriers on the dispersion of air pollution in a neighbourhood. The study was performed with reference to air quality conditions in Manchester, UK. Manchester experiences a high level of NO2. Measure... Read More about Air pollution in a microclimate; the impact of different green barriers on the dispersion.

Thermal performance of thermal paint and surface coatings in buildings in heating dominated climates (2019)
Journal Article
Simpson, A., Fitton, R., Rattigan, I., Marshall, A., Parr, G., & Swan, W. (2019). Thermal performance of thermal paint and surface coatings in buildings in heating dominated climates. Energy and Buildings, 197, 196-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.04.027

A purported approach to reducing heating energy in solid wall “hard to heat” housing is the simple application of a thin layer (< 1mm) of thermal paint containing insulating additives. The objective of this study was to test the energy saving clai... Read More about Thermal performance of thermal paint and surface coatings in buildings in heating dominated climates.

Retrofit modelling of existing dwellings in the UK : the Salford Energy House case study (2019)
Journal Article
Ji, Y., Lee, A., & Swan, W. (2019). Retrofit modelling of existing dwellings in the UK : the Salford Energy House case study. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 37(3), 344-360. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-12-2018-0106

There is a clear consensus that improving energy efficiency of existing housing stock is necessary to meet the UK’s legally binding carbon emission targets by 2050. The aim of this research is to assess the energy saving potentials from building re... Read More about Retrofit modelling of existing dwellings in the UK : the Salford Energy House case study.

Building dynamic thermal model calibration using the Energy House facility at Salford (2019)
Journal Article
Ji, Y., Lee, A., & Swan, W. (2019). Building dynamic thermal model calibration using the Energy House facility at Salford. Energy and Buildings, 191(May 19), 224-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.03.001

Thermal modelling tools have widely been used in the construction industry at the design stage, either for new build or retrofitting existing buildings, providing data for informed decision-making. The accuracy of thermal models has been subject of m... Read More about Building dynamic thermal model calibration using the Energy House facility at Salford.

Renaturing a microclimate : the impact of greening a neighbourhood on indoor thermal comfort during a heatwave in Manchester, UK (2019)
Journal Article
Taleghani, M., Marshall, A., Fitton, R., & Swan, W. (2019). Renaturing a microclimate : the impact of greening a neighbourhood on indoor thermal comfort during a heatwave in Manchester, UK. Solar Energy, 182, 245-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.02.062

Higher air temperatures in large cities like Manchester, UK, reduce human thermal comfort. In this paper, the impact of land cover on microclimate, and consequently on indoor thermal comfort is studied. Through different stages, field measurements an... Read More about Renaturing a microclimate : the impact of greening a neighbourhood on indoor thermal comfort during a heatwave in Manchester, UK.

Assessing the requirements from ‘BB101’ 2006 and 2018 for a naturally ventilated preparatory school in the UK (2018)
Journal Article
Ji, Y., Swan, W., Fitton, R., & Fernando, T. (2018). Assessing the requirements from ‘BB101’ 2006 and 2018 for a naturally ventilated preparatory school in the UK. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 40(5), 638-659. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143624418815785

In the UK, BB101 is the guidance document for ventilation design of school buildings. There are significant changes proposed in the new version of BB101. The aim of this paper is to examine the requirements of thermal comfort and CO2-based indoor a... Read More about Assessing the requirements from ‘BB101’ 2006 and 2018 for a naturally ventilated preparatory school in the UK.

Comparison of whole house heat loss test methods under controlled conditions in six distinct retrofit scenarios (2018)
Journal Article
Alezzo, F., Farmer, D., Fitton, R., Hughes, T., & Swan, W. (2018). Comparison of whole house heat loss test methods under controlled conditions in six distinct retrofit scenarios. Energy and Buildings, 168, 35-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.03.024

The accurate assessment of buildings to assess their performance across a range of parameters is an essential part of understanding both new and retrofit buildings. The growing understanding of the performance gap in terms of its assessment and chara... Read More about Comparison of whole house heat loss test methods under controlled conditions in six distinct retrofit scenarios.

Adoption of sustainable retrofit in UK social housing 2010 – 2015 (2017)
Journal Article
Swan, W., Fitton, R., Smith, L., Abbott, C., & Smith, L. (2017). Adoption of sustainable retrofit in UK social housing 2010 – 2015. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 35(5), 456-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijbpa-04-2017-0019

Purpose The Retrofit State of the Nation Survey has tracked the perceptions of social housing sector professionals’ views of retrofit since 2010. It has taken the form of 3 surveys conducted in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Here we bring together the three... Read More about Adoption of sustainable retrofit in UK social housing 2010 – 2015.

Measuring thermal performance in steady-state conditions at each stage of a full fabric retrofit to a solid wall dwelling (2017)
Journal Article
Farmer, D., Gorse, C., Swan, W., Fitton, R., Brooke-Peat, M., Miles-Shenton, D., & Johnston, D. (2017). Measuring thermal performance in steady-state conditions at each stage of a full fabric retrofit to a solid wall dwelling. Energy and Buildings, 156, 404-414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.09.086

The methodology used for measuring the thermal performance of fabric retrofit systems which were applied to a solid wall UK Victorian house situated within an environmental chamber is explored in detail. The work describes how steady-state boundary c... Read More about Measuring thermal performance in steady-state conditions at each stage of a full fabric retrofit to a solid wall dwelling.

The staged retrofit of a solid wall property under controlled conditions (2017)
Journal Article
controlled conditions. Energy and Buildings, 156, 250-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.09.033

Retrofit of hard to treat properties has been highlighted as a policy challenge to reduced energy consumption in the UK. This study undertook an experimental staged retrofit of a pre-1919 UK solid wall property under controlled conditions. The prop... Read More about The staged retrofit of a solid wall property under controlled conditions.

Domestic building fabric performance : closing the gap between the in situ measured and modelled performance (2017)
Journal Article
Marshall, A., Fitton, R., Swan, W., Farmer, D., Johnston, D., Benjaber, M., & Ji, Y. (2017). Domestic building fabric performance : closing the gap between the in situ measured and modelled performance. Energy and Buildings, 150, 307-317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.06.028

There is a growing body of evidence available to indicate that there is often a discrepancy between the in situ measured thermal performance of a building fabric and the steady-state predicted performance of that fabric, even when the building fabric... Read More about Domestic building fabric performance : closing the gap between the in situ measured and modelled performance.

The thermal performance of window coverings in a whole house test facility with single-glazed sash windows (2017)
Journal Article
Fitton, R., Swan, W., Hughes, T., & Benjaber, M. (2017). The thermal performance of window coverings in a whole house test facility with single-glazed sash windows. Energy Efficiency, 10(6), 1419-1431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-017-9529-0

The residential sector is responsible for 29% of the total energy consumption of the UK, with 62% of this energy being used for space heating. Heat loss through the fabric of building elements is a crucial factor in the energy efficiency of homes, an... Read More about The thermal performance of window coverings in a whole house test facility with single-glazed sash windows.

Maturity Matrix Assessment: evaluation of energy efficiency strategies in Brussels historic residential stock (2017)
Journal Article
Gonzalez, A., Zotano, M., Swan, W., Bouillard, P., & Elkadi, H. (2017). Maturity Matrix Assessment: evaluation of energy efficiency strategies in Brussels historic residential stock. Energy Procedia, 1(111), 407-416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.202

Energy retrofitting of historic or existing buildings is a challenge that it has not yet been properly fully addressed. Multiple projects and methodologies are published every day but neither of them with the holistic approach that will assure comple... Read More about Maturity Matrix Assessment: evaluation of energy efficiency strategies in Brussels historic residential stock.

Maturity matrix assessment : evaluation of energy efficiency strategies in Brussels historic residential stock (2017)
Journal Article
Gonzalez, A., Zotano, M., Swan, W., Bouillard, P., & Elkadi, H. (2017). Maturity matrix assessment : evaluation of energy efficiency strategies in Brussels historic residential stock. Energy Procedia, 111, 407-416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.202

Energy retrofitting of historic or existing buildings is a challenge that it has not yet been properly solved. Multiple projects and methodologies are published every day but neither of them with the holistic approach that will assure success since t... Read More about Maturity matrix assessment : evaluation of energy efficiency strategies in Brussels historic residential stock.

Heat-flow variability of suspended timber ground floors: Implications for in-situ heat-flux measuring (2016)
Journal Article
Pelsmakers, S., Fitton, R., Biddulph, P., Swan, W., Croxford, B., Stamp, S., …Elwell, C. (2017). Heat-flow variability of suspended timber ground floors: Implications for in-situ heat-flux measuring. Energy and Buildings, 138, 396-405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.12.051

Reducing space heating energy demand supports the UK’s legislated carbon emission reduction targets and requires the effective characterisation of the UK’s existing housing stock to facilitate retrofitting decision-making. Approximately 6.6 million U... Read More about Heat-flow variability of suspended timber ground floors: Implications for in-situ heat-flux measuring.

Assessing the performance of domestic heating controls in a whole house test facility (2016)
Journal Article
Fitton, R., Swan, W., Benjaber, M., Hughes, T., & Todd, S. (2016). Assessing the performance of domestic heating controls in a whole house test facility. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 37(5), 539-554. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143624416634070

The energy consumed by domestic space heating systems represents a considerable share of the energy consumed in the UK. At the same time up to a quarter of English homes have inadequate controls on the central heating systems. Current modelling tool... Read More about Assessing the performance of domestic heating controls in a whole house test facility.