A review on the energy retrofit policies and improvements of the UK existing buildings, challenges and benefits

There are inherited challenges and barriers the UK government faces in meeting the 80% carbon reduction target by 2050 compared to 1990 baseline. Technically research shows great opportunity to achieve this target through strategic mass-scale plan to include new and retrofit building schemes. This study aims at reviewing the current retrofit schemes and policies UK adopted since committed to reduce carbon emissions, with an emphasis on existing challenges and potential benefits brought to the construction industry. This will help identifying the gap performance between legislations, standards, and actual/anticipated deliverables. The review adopted secondary research method to allocate scientific research data published in journals and reports on building retrofits. Literature indicated insufficient guidance and information on existing UK housing stock to enable the decision-makers to implement realistic and achievable plans for reducing carbon emissions. The study signifies the understanding and dealing with individual cases as generic retrofitting packages will likely fail to address the complexity of the UK context. Great attention should be paid to some other factors such as social sustainability with great emphasis on using low embodied carbon and energy products. The review will be useful for homeowners and other stakeholders involved in decision-making or people interested in building retrofits. •Existing building retrofit schemes have not orientated energy retrofit policy and approach and no clear strategies to address current carbon reduction challenges.•Embodied carbon in materials and systems should be a key indicator for how building retrofit are delivered.•There is no one solution fits all, different policies and standards can be used depending on individual retrofit cases, whilst step by step retrofitting approach urgently needed.•A focus on energy savings and carbon reduction could result in overlooking the indoor health aspects and social suatinability value.