Charles, A (2012) Factors affecting the transformation of existing (no-fines concrete) dwellings to low carbon homes. PhD thesis, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK.
Abstract
The existing housing stock in the UK is the oldest stock in the whole of Western Europe, leading to poor housing conditions. The Scottish Government is committed to improving the performance of the existing housing stock and one of its goals is the 2050 low carbon target. Through this initiative, the Scottish Government aims to reduce 80% of the carbon consumption of the dwellings to 1990 levels by the year 2050. To achieve this target, social housing providers have adopted different refurbishment approaches for transforming existing dwellings. To aid with the transformation of existing dwellings, this research explores the performance of existing no-fines concrete dwellings. No-fines concrete dwellings were chosen for this research, as in the 1970s this system of construction was seen as a system that saved energy. However, now, in the 21 st century, these dwellings are classified by the Scottish Government as hard-to-treat homes. • The performance of no-fines concrete dwellings before and after refurbishment is evaluated using a mixed design methodology and an exploratory approach to data collection. The main findings of this research include that the performance of no- fines concrete construction is dependent on the quality of workmanship. The thermal performance of a no-fines concrete wall is influenced by the geographic location of the wall and the quality of workmanship. The refurbishment approaches adopted on no-fines concrete dwellings are not holistic and are influenced by the funding available and the ownership of the properties. Finally, as an un-holistic refurbishment approach is adopted when heating and ventilation regimes within properties fail, mould and dampness often occur within these properties. Refurbishment approaches fail as a result of the quality of workmanship, the choice of refurbishment approach and the lifestyles of the occupants. This research provides a framework to the social housing providers and occupants to adopt during the refurbishment of existing NFC dwellings. This research suggests future work on monitoring the indoor environment within dwellings after adopting the recommendations from this research.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | government; homes; performance; refurbishment; design method; Europe; UK |
| Index terms: | design method, social housing, ownership, monitoring, funding, indoor environment, low carbon, transformation, lifestyle, Europe, workmanship, housing, consumption, mould, thermal performance, concrete construction, methodology, ventilation, housing stock |
| Subjects: | consumer economics, construction type, economic analysis, environmental science, research methods, sustainability assessment, physical geography and landforms, environmental hazards, building construction, housing and residential development, demography, design methods, control systems, business, air quality, energy systems, contractual condition, economics, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Site Management, Contract Administration, Design Practice, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here