Improving thermal performance in retrofits
1. Read up on the legislation
Approved Document L1B, Conservation of fuel and power in existing dwellings, gives guidance on what reasonable provisions should be made to comply with energy efficiency requirements for existing dwellings, extensions, conversions and renovations.
2. Understand your U-values
U-values are a measure of the rate of heat transfer through a building product and are measured in watts per square metre per Kelvin or W/m²k. Certain values must be met to comply with the regulations, for instance 0.28W/m²k is required for walls, compared with 0.22W/m²k for floors.
3. Know your project
A Victorian house with a solid brick wall is likely to have a U-value of more than 2W/m²k and require significant improvements, whereas a 1970s house with a cavity wall and basic insulation could have a U-value of less than 1W/m²k and may not need a substantial thermal upgrade.
4. Think thermal
Thermal plasterboards are an economic way of upgrading a thermal element in renovations. Find out what insulation is already included in the wall or roof, in many cases a thermal element may require only a minor improvement.
5. Above and beyond?
The regulations are minimum mandatory requirements, but further upgrades in insulation will improve energy efficiency and reduce heating demand. Selecting a thermal board with enhanced performance, such as GTEC Thermal K, provides superior thermal insulation improvement over standard plasterboards.
By Ali Arasteh, technical director at Lafarge Plasterboard. A toolkit on using plasterboard to improve thermal efficiency is available by contacting 01275 377589.
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