EnerPHit: making our buildings work to achieve our climate change ambitions, New from RIBA Publishing

Fossil fuel use is coming to a necessary end. Climate change research is producing undeniable findings and damage to our planet is already taking effect.

In a crucial time for the planet, its environment and us, architects and designers have an unprecedented opportunity to make vital changes to the way we live, to be able to successfully meet the climate change challenges facing us.

EnerPHit, pioneered by the Passive Haus Institute, is the gold standard of performance for existing buildings. James Traynor’s practical EnerPHit guide provides architects and designers the tools to retrofit our existing buildings to demonstrate what is possible and help the UK meet its crucial carbon reduction commitments.

To meet the ambitious target of reaching carbon zero by 2050, or much earlier, building owners across the UK will be required to upgrade their buildings to adhere to increasingly stringent energy performance requirements.

So far, there has been no clear advice from UK Government on how these requirements can be achieved, but the EnerPHit standard offers a very clear methodology.

Nearly 20% of UK carbon emissions are attributed to the heating and cooling of buildings. By tackling our inefficient stock, we can address both carbon emissions and fuel poverty, whilst providing improved thermal comfort and a healthier environment.

“Retrofitting our current, much loved buildings that we live and work in can improve them for future use and enable us to work tangibly toward the bigger goal of reducing climate change, for generations to come.”

Equipping the reader with key information on EnerPHit, the book aims to give both architects and policymakers a practical understanding of the most effective benchmark for building performance. Backed with real-life case studies, it enables architects to understand how to achieve successful outcomes that are tailored to suit available budgets and programmes.

EnerPHit will be available from November 2019 from RIBA Bookshops: bit.ly/2lEXvrV