Highlights  A 'performance gap' is found to exist between measured and modelled building fabric performance.  Highly accurate measurement of building fabric properties (i.e. U-values and air permeability) is possible under controlled conditions.  Calibration of building energy models using accurate measurements of the building's fabric properties reduces the observed performance gap.

QUB is an innovative method enabling the experimental measurement of the total heat loss coefficient (HLC) of a building envelope in one night only. It is based on a simple theory, yet can be demonstrated to be accurate

Purpose -The study was designed to assess the knowledge, adoption and perceived effectiveness of sustainable retrofit technologies within the UK social housing sector. Design/methodology/approach -The study was undertaken using a structured questionnaire that was completed by 130 providers of social housing. Findings -The study showed that social housing providers were evenly split in their reliance on internal or external information for sustainable retrofit knowledge. In terms of adoption identified that this was strongly driven by government-funded programmes, leading to widespread adoption of low technology solutions. The respondents identified that many leading edge technologies were perceived to be less effective.Research limitations/implications -The study represents a snap-shot of adoption and effectiveness issues, therefore does not show the trajectory of adoption which should be addressed in a follow-up study. Practical implications -The social housing sector has been viewed as a market maker for some of the newer technologies. It indicates that some of the newer technologies, such as heat pumps are viewed as less effective than more established technologies. Social implications -The study has implications for the adoption of technology to address fuel poverty and climate change, as well as informing future policy such as Green Deal. Originality/value -The study includes 130 responses from the social housing stock and gives a perspective of current views on adoption and effectiveness of retrofit technologies within the social housing sector. This is useful for both other social housing providers and policy makers.

No abstract

The accurate assessment of buildings to assess their performance across a range of parameters is an essential part of understanding both new and retrofit buildings. The growing understanding of the performance gap in terms of its assessment and characterisation relies on effective methods of analysis. Here, we evaluate an experimental whole house method, known as QUB. As with many whole building approaches the method establishes heat loss through transmission and ventilation losses. This study compares QUB against an alternative, established, whole house test known as coheating. It was applied in a whole house test facility under controlled conditions. The test property, a solid wall pre-1919 UK archetype, was retrofit using a set of commercially available products and then the retrofit was removed in stages. At each of these stages a QUB test, which commonly takes one night, and coheating test, which can take few weeks, were applied. The objective of the study was to provide a comparison between the new method and more established method in terms of accuracy. The two methods showed close agreement in terms of results, suggesting that the quicker test has great potential as a more practical and economic test. There were higher levels of uncertainty with the QUB method due to shorter measurement periods. The lack of full boundary conditions within the test facility should be considered a limitation in applying the findings directly to the field. However, this study indicates the potential for QUB in validating performance, warranting further investigation.