ABSTRACT
The word ‘heritage’ is used in this chapter as a generic typology. The key element of a historic building is that it is of traditional construction, or that the external walls are of solid masonry construction. The International Scientific Committee on Energy and Sustainability is made up of 56 International Council on Monuments and Sites members representing some 24 countries, all with an interest in the sensible energy retrofitting of heritage buildings. The condition of the building fabric and in particular of the external envelope is a large consideration when evaluating an older or traditional building for an energy retrofit. The setting of a building of heritage value should also be a consideration at the evaluation stage of a possible energy retrofit project. The primary consideration when implementing any intervention on an older or traditional building is ‘reversibility’.
