John Burgess, Nikki Buckett, Michael Camilleri, Lisa French, Andrew Pollard, Phil Hancock.
The Papakowhai Renovation Project has monitored indoor environment, waste, water and energy parameters in nine homes in the Porirua suburb of Papakowhai before and after renovation packages were applied to the homes. This report presents an analysis of monitored data from three consecutive years (2006, 2007 and 2008). The first year included the period before the renovation, the second year included the period after the renovation, and the third year captured the effect of ‘take back’ in a second year after the renovation.
Results showed that all homes had some improvements in energy use and/or space temperatures. They confirmed that:
- Insulation alone is not enough – you need to include an efficient heating device to get significant energy savings and temperature improvements.
- Current retrofit standards will not achieve a HSS; much higher levels of retrofit are needed.
- Wall insulation on top of ceiling and under floor insulation may be required, combined with efficient heating, to get homes to the HSS.
Analysis against the Beacon HSS High Standard of Sustainability showed that most renovations were not sufficient to lift the homes to the HSS, and suggested that other drivers such as occupant choice and behavior limited the outcomes.