20 October 2022
|
Mitsubishi Electric has launched a new guide designed to help reduce the risk of buildings becoming 'stranded assets' due to not reaching the government’s environmental standards.
The new white paper, Stranded assets: a roadmap to net zero for new and existing buildings, is designed to provide building owners and managers with more insight on the importance of setting up their buildings for net zero and describes methods on how they can achieve this.
“We’ve designed this guide to offer insights into current thinking on what net zero buildings are and where legislation and guidance on this issue is heading,” explains Chris Newman, net zero design manager.
It also looks at the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that can help on the journey to net zero carbon emissions for both new and refurbished buildings. This includes the essential questions that clients should ask their design teams at the early stages of a project.
Around 80% of the buildings we will occupy in 2050 have already been built. With owners of older properties facing significant costs associated with meeting higher standards for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) or disruption in switching from gas boilers to heat pumps, buildings are falling further behind environmental requirements every year.
The financial disadvantages to not choosing low-carbon technologies are also outlined, including the fact that 1.4 billion sq. feet of UK retail space may be unlettable by 2023 if energy efficiency issues are not addressed.
As the UK currently relies heavily on fossil fuels to heat and cool buildings, decarbonising the HVAC systems in buildings is an important step. The guide provides advice on installing heat pumps and utilising heat recovery in the decarbonisation of heating and ventilation, along with tips on adopting low GWP refrigerants.
