In response to the challenge of climate change, new standards are being applied to the retrofit of buildings, to ensure that work towards 'net-zero carbon' is of good quality, delivers the intended outcomes and doesn't result in unintended consequences. Following the recommendations of the Each Home Counts review, BSI has developed the BSI Retrofit Standards Framework, which is designed to bring all current best practice standards to bear on publicly promoted or funded retrofit. The key components of the framework are Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2035, which specifies a robust process for domestic retrofit, and PAS 2038, which specifies a similar process for non-domestic projects. Both PASs are sponsored by BEIS, and both require compliance with many of the other standards in the Framework.

The domestic retrofit industry is transitioning slowly and painfully to PAS 2035, following years of poor practice and poor outcomes. The non-domestic sector contains fewer, larger buildings and is much more complex, ranging from corner shops to The Shard, and including multi-tenanted office buildings and shopping centres. Non-domestic retrofit is often combined with broader refurbishment or re-fitting, and tends to involve more professionals. PAS 2038 therefore provides many options for assessment, improvement option evaluation and fine-tuning of performance.

This session will cover the BSI Retrofit Standards Framework, summarise the requirements of PAS 2035, review the detailed requirements of PAS 2038, and explain how BEIS is considering using PAS 2038 to support non-domestic retrofit policy.

About the speaker: Dr Peter Rickaby

Peter Rickaby trained as an architect at Cambridge University and holds a doctorate in energy studies from the Open University. He was a Director of Rickaby Thompson Associates Energy + Sustainability Consultants for thirty-five years, and is now semi-retired, works as an independent consultant and helps to run the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings, at UCL.

He has written, co-authored or edited most of the published technical guidance on energy efficiency in housing in the UK. He contributed to three work-streams of the Each Home Counts review and was a member of the Implementation Board. Peter Chairs the BSI Retrofit Standards Task Group, which is charged with developing a framework of technical standards for retrofit, and he is Technical Author of PAS 2035 Retrofitting Dwellings for Improved Energy Efficiency: Specification and Guidance.