BPIE: Europe's buildings under the microscope - PU Europe

Figure 2A3 – An illustration of the main risks which need to be addressed for market uptake
CHALLENGES
Supply chain
Quality of
workmanship
Technical failure
Disturbance
I. Supply chain
Market and supply chains will certainly develop over time but short term we are facing risks. For example,
a significant shortage of material, components and suitably skilled labour could lead to renovation
work not including low energy measures. Opportunities will be missed that may not reappear for many
decades (‘lock-in effect’). Alternatively, low energy renovation projects may be abandoned because they
cannot be delivered within a specific window of opportunity.
II. Quality of workmanship
Another side-effect of a significant increase in demand could be the rapid growth of contractors offering
to undertake low energy renovation work, which if not appropriately regulated or managed, could
give rise to poor workmanship and even some serious short term failures. Both these outcomes would
generate negative feedback which in turn could stem the demand for renovation projects (in England in
the 1970s the World in Action TV programme exposed shoddy working practices in timber frame house
building that virtually stopped them being built and the industry took decades to recover).
III. Technical failure
A similar and potentially more troubling concern that has been voiced by many in the industry is the
risk of building-in long term failure risks that may not emerge for a decade or more. Whilst not a barrier
in the short term, if such failures began to occur on a large scale in several years they could result in a
massive loss of confidence and a halt in major renovation programmes; to say nothing of major costs
to building owners and insurers. Most new construction materials and more importantly construction
techniques and processes go through a long period of testing and development before they gain
approval for widespread application in new buildings. This would also be true of the materials being
used in low energy renovations but not necessarily the construction techniques and processes. Many of
these have had little testing and development. A major concern is the potential for building-in interstitial
condensation risk when installing internal wall insulation.
IV. Disturbance
Another barrier that has yet to emerge is the practical issue of what happens to the building occupier
when a major renovation is being undertaken. It is probably seen a barrier at the moment given that
occupants may not want to entertain the disruption involved in a major building renovation. In most
cases deep renovation can only be implemented in a vacant building which will involve practical and
financial barriers associated with re-locating the occupant for the period of the retrofit (4-10 weeks).
62 | Europe’s buildings under the microscope