Bertram Street, Camden Low Carbon Project

Case Study Details

Client: Camden Council
Contract Duration: June - September 2010
Contract Value: Retrofit costs approx £30,000
Contract Form: JCT
Contract Location: Camden, London N19

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Description

United House carried out a low-carbon retrofitting of this three-storey Victorian terraced house in Camden using a revolutionary new laser technology for the first time while the residents continued to live in the property.

The refurbishment used the WHISCERS™ process developed by the Sustainable Energy Academy with United House as part of the Technology Strategy Board’s ‘Retrofit for the Future’ competition. WHISCERS™ utilises laser scanning, off-site cutting of internal wall insulation and fitting with residents in situ.

Challenges

The project is the first full-scale test of the WHISCERS™ process and the retrofit is expected to deliver up to 77% carbon savings. The aim of this showcase is to achieve a large scale solution for volume eco-retrofitting of social housing on a nationwide scale and this has never been done before.

A partnership between United House, the Sustainable Energy Academy, Parity Projects and Camden Council secured funding from the TSB to develop an automated process for designing and cutting internal wall insulation. Parity Projects provided the energy modelling for the project and installed a whole-house monitoring system to assess the in-situ carbon reduction performance of the property.

One of the project aims is to develop a standard production process to deliver a 24-hour turnaround from survey to fit. The process uses laser scanning to capture data points in three dimensions and to produce accurate drawings, machine cut the insulation board off-site and fit the next day with the residents in occupation.

The Camden home also underwent refurbishment works which included kitchen, bathroom and separate WC renewal.

United House’s vision is to deliver a truly low-carbon solution over and above these standard refurbishment measures by installing a solar thermal hot water system, photovoltaics, expanded polystyrene internal insulation to the external walls, a low volume bath and low flow shower mixer and heat recovery ventilation units to the kitchen and bathroom.

The project also includes an insulated loft hatch, vacuum glazed sash windows and insulating mineral wool in the loft space. The project team has also identified a number of lifestyle habits for the residents to adopt in order to contribute to the overall low energy performance of the house, which will help Camden Council to pass on valuable lessons in energy-efficiency to its residents.

Other Low Carbon Case Studies

Bertram low-carbon retrofit using the WHISCERS™ process

In autumn 2010, United House carried out a low-carbon retrofitting of a solid walled, three-storey Victorian terraced house in Bertram Street, Camden using the revolutionary WHISCERS™ laser technology for the first time, while the residents continue to live in the property. The refurbishment, developed as part of the TSB's 'Retrofit for the Future' competition, utilised laser scanning, off-site cutting of internal wall insulation and fitting with residents in situ. The retrofit is expected to deliver 77% carbon savings and reduce fuel bills by nearly £600 a year. For more information on WHISCERS™, click on the video above, or email info@unitedhouse.net.

For more information, please call 01322 665522 or email info@unitedhouse.net.

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