Richard Fitton

Verified

Richard verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

Verified

Richard verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Full) at University of Salford

The heat transfer coefficient, or the HTC, is an industry-standard indicator of building energy performance. It is predicated on an assumption that it is of a constant value, and several different methods have been developed to measure and calculate the HTC as a constant. Whilst there are limited variations in the results obtained from these differ...

The heat transfer coefficient or the HTC is an industry-standard indicator of building energy performance. It has been predicated on an assumption that it is of a constant value, and several different methods have been developed to measure and calculate the HTC as a constant. Whilst there are limited variations of results obtained from these differ...

This paper aims to determine the optimal construction strategies for new-build houses in the UK to minimize heating energy demand and discomfort hours. This research utilizes a previously calibrated model of “The Future Home” in Energy House 2.0’s environmental chamber. Eight design variables were optimized including multiple building fabric specif...

This paper aims to determine the optimal construction strategies for new build houses in the UK to minimise heating energy demand and discomfort hours. The research utilises a previously calibrated model of "The Future Home" in Energy House 2.0's environmental chamber. Eight design variables were optimised including multiple building fabric specifi...

The Demonstration of Energy Efficiency Potential (DEEP) project combines multiple research activities to provide an appraisal of piecemeal and whole house approaches to retrofits in solid walled homes. It also explores how to improve measurements and models of technical performance and risks associated with retrofits. This report presents the resea...

Buildings, as the second-largest carbon emitter, play a significant role in decarbonising efforts to achieve net zero in the UK. The proposed Future Homes Standard aims to ensure a 75–80 % reduction in carbon emissions by increasing the building energy efficiency including decreasing U values and use of more efficient services for all new homes con...

The UK has some of the oldest buildings in Europe. They are also some of the worst performing in terms of energy performance. In tandem with these issues the UK has committed to making a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions. UK homes are currently responsible for almost 20 per cent of CO2 emissions. This leaves little option other than to make co...

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the assessment of a domestic property's energy performance status by a domestic energy assessor (DEA), to ascertain the possible underlying reasons for variability in the results of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). By variability, the authors mean discrepancies in assessment between different DEAs on simil...

The purpose of Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) is to assess a building’s performance at key stages and throughout the entire life cycle of the building. BPE takes a holistic approach towards building operation. It is used to evaluate designs, test buildings prior to occupation, during occupation and post occupation. How BPE is used Where rel...

Assembling the knowledge, tools, and skills to reliably determine the (Heat Transfer Coefficient) HTC of a dwelling was a main driver for Annex 71. However, research has been carried out in this area for several years. What has set this work apart was the idea of measurement of the HTC using cost effective data, such as smart meters and on-board de...

The heat transfer coefficient (HTC) is a very important factor influencing the energy performance of a building. Recent studies have shown the importance of on-site measurements of the HTC in reducing the performance gap in buildings. However, its measurement setup and calculation procedures are known to be intense and complex. Due to this, many st...

Abstract The deployment of domestic smart metering infrastructure in Great Britain provides the opportunity for identification of home appliances utilising non‐intrusive load monitoring methods. Identifying the energy consumption of certain home appliances generates useful insights for the energy suppliers and for other bodies with a vested interes...

This paper aims to introduce and give an understanding of the process of determining a building’s energy performance using smart meters and ‘on-board’ equipment such as sensors found in smart thermostats or even low-cost sensing equipment. The rationale for this type of examination of a dwelling is given, alongside figures around accuracy, cost and...

A purported approach to reducing heating energy in solid wall “hard to heat” housing is the simple application of a thin layer (<1 mm) of thermal paint containing insulating additives. The objective of this study was to test the energy saving claims by a systematic study of the material characteristics and thermal performance of internal coatings u...

Higher air temperatures in large cities like Manchester, UK, reduce human thermal comfort. In this paper, the impact of land cover on microclimate, and consequently on indoor thermal comfort is studied. Through different stages, field measurements and computer modelling were carried out for a heat wave episode in summer 2017 in Manchester: First, t...

In the UK, BB101 is the guidance document for ventilation design of school buildings. There are significant changes proposed in the new version of BB101. The aim of this paper is to examine the requirements of thermal comfort and CO 2 -based indoor air quality using both versions on a typical naturally ventilated preparatory school design using dyn...

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 even in a short time and in real buildings, as long as certain experimental conditions are fulfilled. This study combines analyti...

Nowadays most retrofit decisions are based on reducing CO2 / heating consumption. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of three tools (RdSAP, SAP and IES) often used to predict these reductions. Three no-fines concrete (NFC) dwellings (C1, C2, and C3) with similar floor area and construction but different occupants were monitored....

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 m...

U-values of building elements are often determined using point measurements, where infrared imagery may be used to identify a suitable location for these measurements. Current methods identify that surface areas exhibiting a homogeneous temperature-away from regions of thermal bridging-can be used to obtain U-values. In doing so, however, the resul...

The residential sector is responsible for 29% of the total energy consumption of the UK, with 62% of this energy being used for space heating. Heat loss through the fabric of building elements is a crucial factor in the energy efficiency of homes, and a wide number of studies have looked at physical interventions to improve the energy efficiency of...

Purpose The Retrofit State of the Nation Survey has tracked the perceptions of social housing sector professionals’ views of retrofit since 2010. It has taken the form of three surveys conducted in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Here, the authors bring together the three surveys to specifically address the adoption and perceived effectiveness of retrofit te...

The methodology used for measuring the thermal performance of fabric retrofit systems which were applied to a solid wall UK Victorian house situated within an environmental chamber is explored in detail. The work describes how steady-state boundary conditions were approximated, then repeated at the Salford Energy House test facility. How establishe...

Retrofit of hard to treat properties has been highlighted as a policy challenge to reduce energy consumption in the UK. This study undertook an experimental staged retrofit of a pre-1919 UK solid wall property under controlled conditions. The property is housed within an environmental chamber, where the conditions were held at a constant 5 °C durin...

There is a growing body of evidence available to indicate that there is often a discrepancy between the in situ measured thermal performance of a building fabric and the steady-state predicted performance of that fabric, even when the building fabric has been modelled based upon what was actually built. However, much of the work that has been publi...

This paper examines the rationale for assisting parts of the investigations within a domestic building survey by using remote smart technology. Sensor equipment can identify many conditions within a building that indicate a defect. It can be located in areas that a surveyor cannot easily access, and be allowed to collect data over extended periods....

Reducing space heating energy demand supports the UK’s legislated carbon emission reduction targets and requires the effective characterisation of the UK’s existing housing stock to facilitate retrofitting decision-making. Approximately 6.6 million UK dwellings pre-date 1919 and are predominantly of suspended timber ground floor construction, the t...

In the UK, approximately 16% of the energy use can be attributed to domestic wet central heating systems. Government financial support and advances in technology have led to boilers becoming more efficient and a range of technologies are now available that claim to be able to improve the efficiency of domestic wet central heating systems. One such...

The energy consumed by domestic space heating systems represents a considerable share of the energy consumed in the UK. At the same time up to a quarter of English homes have inadequate controls on the central heating systems. Current modelling tools, and results from the limited field trials that have been carried out, are problematic due to the i...

The 2008 Climate Change Act has committed the UK to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent in 2050 from 1990 levels. Key to achieving this is a focus on reducing carbon emissions in residential property, where more than a quarter of the nation's carbon dioxide is emitted. The assessment of dwellings is an essential part of this process and this pap...

There is a growing body of evidence concerning the energy efficiency performance of domestic buildings in the UK, driven by policy-based agendas, such as the need for zero carbon dioxide homes by 2016 for new build homes, and the prior Green Deal and energy company obligation for sustainable refurbishment. While there have been a number of studies...

This paper aims to investigate the likely thermal performance of a unique pre-1919 Victorian case study property by using both current and future projected weather data after a deep retrofit. The property is a re-construction within an environmental chamber using reclaimed materials designed to test housing retrofit solutions. Climate projections f...

Many of the projections of the energy performance of retrofitted properties are based on models that may or may not accurately reflect the real falls in energy use and associated carbon dioxide emissions. The gap between as-modelled and as-built energy use has been apparent in the new build market for some time, and it is no less of an issue within...

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 ho...

Many studies have found that individual householder behaviour can produce highly significant energy reductions, typically ranging from 25% to 50%. One experiment found that variations of more than 300% in energy consumption were due to human choices in the home. This work suggests that action to encourage households to change energy consumption beh...