05/05/2022
renovate ! - not detonate! 👌🏽
THIS IS ONE FOR ALL YOU BUILDERS IN THE RENOVATION GAME – keep doing what you are doing!! We should be doing more of it!
When should we renovate and when should we rebuild?
My thoughts have changed over time on this one. Even a couple of years ago I would probably have sided with build new, unless the structure is in great condition.
New homes tend to perform better, and with operational carbon until recently being such a overwhelming dominant part of the environmental footprint, renovations could hamper the long term low carbon potential for the site…
But things have changed.
Grids are getting cleaner over time, and technology has moved on. This means carefully considered renovations can also achieve Net Zero outcomes.
YOU DON’T NECESSARILY NEED A NEW HOME TO REACH NET ZERO!
And for every m2 of house saved by keeping part of the old structure, ~1tonne of CO2 is saved from entering the atmosphere. (See previous post on “How Much Upfront Carbon”.)
For the average renovation where you keep ~100m2 of house, that will be 100+ tonnes CO2 saved. That is significant! And worth achieving where possible.
So what does this mean?
When you get the inevitable question from friends, and potential clients, “Should I knockdown or Renovate”, just add these facts into your calculations when you consider structure and cost and potential performance.
We have a huge amount of existing building stock. If we can keep most of it there and give it a new lease of life, the amount of energy, resources, dollars and CO2 saved will be enormous!
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Keep an eye out for more rules to come, in the Embodied Carbon Series…
And also checkout our past Webinar on “Renovate or Detonate” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA-E6tJm1OU
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