ABSTRACT
Progress in retrofitting the UK’s commercial properties continues to be slow and fragmented. Recent research from the UK and USA suggests that radical changes are needed to drive large scale retrofitting, and that new and innovative models of financing can create new opportunities. This chapter draws on research (including EPSRC Retrofit 2050: 2010-2014) to offer insights into the terminology of retrofit and the changes in UK policy and practice that are needed to ‘scale up’ activity in the sector as a whole. The chapter also touches on some of the issues associated with scaling up commercial property action at city level. The chapter, which focuses primarily on energy retrofitting, reviews and synthesises key published research into commercial property retrofitting in the UK and USA and also draws on policy and practice from the EU and Australia. The chapter examines key conceptualisations and characteristics of commercial property retrofit drawing on themes from the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) to identify key actors and relationships. The chapter summarises key findings from recent research and suggests that there are a number of policy and practice measures which need to be implemented in the UK (and elsewhere) for commercial property retrofitting to succeed at scale. These include improved funding vehicles for retrofit; better transparency in actual energy performance; and consistency in measurement, verification and assessment standards.
