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Green Guide for Historic Buildings published |
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26 Apr 2010, 4:13 PM
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A comprehensive new guide for anyone wanting to improve the environmental performance of historic and listed buildings has been published today by The Prince's Regeneration Trust, the heritage regeneration charity of HRH The Prince of Wales. The Green Guide for Historic Buildings provides practical step-by-step advice on improving the environmental sustainability of historic and listed buildings. The guide gives expert opinion on sympathetic adaptations and, crucially, how effective they are likely to be in saving money and reducing carbon emissions.
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"We must all make an effort in tackling climate change and that goes for historic buildings too. Listed buildings in particular do present challenges, but energy saving measures can be made and The Green Guide explains how these can be achieved," said Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive, The Prince's Regeneration Trust.
Kerslake continued: "It's important that listing is not seen as a barrier to improving environmental performance, or support for the listing system will diminish. To shy away from enabling energy efficiency improvements to historic buildings and to fail to demonstrate their potential is to miss a vital opportunity."
The guide- which contains a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales - summarises key legislation and policy and takes the reader through the major steps from planning to completion. There are practical 'hints and tips' from leading heritage regeneration specialists and a quick reference FAQ section on how to obtain statutory consents. Cost comparisons are given on the move to cleaner energy, together with schemes and initiatives that can save money when it comes to adapting a building. The guide also uses 13 exemplar case studies to show where environmental efficiency has been successfully achieved in the UK.
When making historic and listed buildings more energy efficient, the guide advocates reducing energy needs before considering how to generate renewable energy on site:
"It makes no sense to affect the character of the building by introducing solar or photovoltaic panels if the hot water tank, pipes, floor and roof are inadequately insulated, the windows and doors are ill-fitting or the occupants leave all the lights on. Expenditure on loft insulation is a reasonably cheap and quick way of introducing beneficial energy saving measures into a building, and managing the way people within the building consume energy is also a crucial, yet achievable, task," Kerslake continued.
Although the guide focuses on listed buildings it has direct relevance and application to many areas of conservation, and in particular, other types of historic building which make up our magnificent built heritage landscape. The Prince said the Green Guide to Historic Buildings brings together his two passions: architecture and the environment.
"It draws together two areas that are particularly close to my heart," he writes in the foreword. "Firstly, the careful stewardship of the UK's rich heritage and secondly the need to protect the environment, including taking urgent action to avert the climate crisis."
Prince Charles said that old buildings are often more environmentally friendly than many modern counterparts because they make the best use of natural light and ventilation.
"Many people believe that old buildings leak energy through their windows, roofs and walls and are bad for the environment, so cannot be reused sustainably. In fact the solution for our listed buildings and our environment both lie in working with the grain of nature."
The 120-page guide recommends using natural materials for insulation like sheep's wool, straw bales and even hemp. "Easy wins" include hanging heavy curtains, installing draught excluders on the chimney, composting food waste and fitting low energy light bulbs. More complex solutions include fitting solar panels or planting a "green roof".
The Green Guide for Historic Buildings may be purchased online at www.tsoshop.co.uk
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