Seven Myths of Building Retrofit

This paper identifies seven widely-respected myths in the retrofit debate, which need to be debunked if retrofit is to have a chance of achieving its potential.. Myth 1: Retrofit is a ‘fit and forget’, once-only intervention. Buildings need upkeep and they change over time in response to user needs. Energy retrofits need to be similarly maintainable and adaptable. Myth 2: Low-energy retrofit happens independently of repair & maintenance cycles. The service providers with the potential to deliver retrofit at scale are in construction, not energy . Myth 3: Off-site methods can industrialise all retrofit activity. The unpredictable nature of retrofit work means that it will always involve labour-intensive tasks and on! -the-job problem-solving. Myth 4: The only useful innovations are in technology. The construction industry needs support to trial processes and practices which do not show up in conventional metrics of innovation (R&D spending; patents). Myth 5: Regulation is bad for business. Well-designed policy provides a level playing field for business activity. Businesses need policy support to prevent being undermined by poor-quality competitors. Myth 6: Retrofit policy should promote specific measures. Engineering and economic assessments of retrofit give insights into what needs to be done by when, but they are poor predictors of how the work is to be achieved and by whom. Myth 7: Real-life retrofit decisions are based on cost-benefit analysis. Buildings serve many more functions than providing energy services, so assessments of energy costs and savings are too narrow to drive investment decisions.