Home Retrofit

For most households in Daviot home heating is the largest part of our carbon footprint. A home that burns 3,000litres of heating oil in a year emits 9.3 tonnes CO₂ That’s why we’re running a project to help decarbonise every home in our community.

This starts with understanding what it takes to get a home ready for zero emissions heating.

In January 2022 we commission specialist architects, John Gilbert Architects, to conduct zero emissions feasibility studies on three Daviot home types. The work was funded by Vattenfall through Foundation Scotland and you can access the full reports below. 

They describe the measures necessary to install a ground source heat pump for each house type while also reducing the overall energy losses and improving the internal air quality.

 

Air Permeability Testing

A large amount of energy can be lost from our homes through drafts, up to 40% in some instances. We can understand just how leaky our homes are by conducting air-permeability tests, also known as Blower-door tests.

Thanks to funding from NESCAN, we were able to conduct Blower-door tests on the three houses in our feasibility study. This gave us valuable information about how “air-tight” these homes were:

Modern Timber Home: 4.37 ach (see the report)

1980’s Masonry Home: 6.01 ach (see the report)

Granite dwelling: 7.61 ach (see the report)

Next steps….What does it cost?

One of the largest concerns is how much it costs to do all these things. So that’s the next step, we’re looking for a quantity surveyor who can help us work that out. That will help inform our community approach.

We’re hoping to develop a model that can work at scale, where multiple homes can benefit from economies of scale and convenience.

If you know a suitable quantity surveyor who might be willing to help, please put them in touch. 

Keep watching this space for more updates!