News from the county : WHEAS : heat loss and historic buildings

The Warmer Worcestershire project, funded with a grant from Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands, is "helping deliver fuel poverty and climate change targets in Worcestershire's Local Area Agreement." From November 2008 to March 2009, an aerial thermal imaging survey of Worcestershire was carried out. The data captured by the survey has been used to produce a thermal map of the entire county, enabling us to see the amount of heat lost through the roofs of properties. The study found that historic (i.e. pre-1900) and non-historic (post-1900) buildings perform the same on average in terms of heat loss. Some types of historic buildings do perform poorly, but others perform better than modern properties. Older properties are just as efficient as 20th-century properties, or rather both are equally inefficient, as most properties, old or new, do not have the recommended amount of loft insulation and many could benefit from cavity wall insulation. [Revised Publication Abstract]