Viability of retrofitting existing office buildings to residential use from a Whole Life Carbon perspective - Dataset

Abstract

The paper evaluates the carbon viability of office to residential retrofits: it aims to determine at what point in time does a Retrofit becomes more carbon-intensive than a theoretical demolishment + construction of a new build with similar characteristics in the same location. The study was based on Delta Point in London, which was used as a Base Case.. After conducting life cycle assessment (LCA), a comparative analysis showed that despite the high embodied emission savings of the Retrofit, the new build scenario has better carbon impact. This was due to the new build outperforming the Retrofit in operational carbon emissions, which diminishes the carbon difference between the two scenarios. Depending on the energy efficiency of the new build, the initial ‘carbon advantage’ of the Retrofit was annulled between 21-35 years. Considering that LCA is conducted for 60-80 years and that a typical buildings’ lifespan in the UK is 60-100 years, it can be concluded that Retrofits present a significantly higher carbon footprint. The paper presents recommendations for policymaking as well as a method for identifying best options in case of a potential retrofit project. In case of the former, the paper argues for combination of retrofitting with minimum energy efficiency standards in line with the UK Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). In case of the latter, the paper presents a method for comparative analysis utilising LCA for future projects.