Carbon Vision TARBASE
(Technology Assessment for Radically Improving the Built Asset Base)
Upgrading buildings to halve carbon emissions

The TARBASE project is identifying carbon-saving technologies that, if incorporated into existing buildings, could deliver a 50 per cent cut in their carbon emissions by 2030. At least 75 per cent of the UK's current buildings will still exist in 2030, so finding ways of radically reducing their emissions is an excellent way of boosting the UK's overall carbon performance.

This £1.3 million, 4-year initiative is focusing on the scope for reducing carbon emissions through, for instance, greater use of combined heat and power (CHP) in buildings, the use of building fabric materials with improved insulating properties and the use of building-integrated renewable energy technologies.

For different types of building, it will assess the effectiveness of a range of technologies in terms of cost, ease of installation, social acceptability and carbon performance. It will then outline those that can deliver most carbon savings for each building type. Individual tasks include definition of eight categories of building and 30-40 variants, a study of how ways of using buildings will change by 2030 and the development of examples of buildings incorporating effective carbon-saving measures.

Professor Marcus Newborough of Heriot-Watt University is co-investigator on the project. He says: "Clarifying which energy-saving technologies should be fitted to different building types will have a real impact on carbon emissions. The TARBASE project will make its findings available to building owners, building operators and policy-makers to inform their future decision-making."

Partners Heriot-Watt University (project leader), University of Ulster, University of Surrey, University of Nottingham, BSRIA, Integer, CIRIA and JB&B.

Contact: Ali Berry, a.berry@surrey.ac.uk, 01483 686679
Or Andrew Peacock, (TARBASE Project Manager), Heriot-Watt University, 0131 451 4359