Towards net-zero archetypes: The performance of system-only, fabric-only, staged and whole-house retrofit

Background The archetype-based housing stock study can lead a better coordination between the government and local authority-led retrofit planning. Purpose This study investigates the energy, energy cost and carbon performances of different retrofit scenarios. Research Design Using deterministic modelling, the existing performance of fourteen archetypes is compared by adding system-only, fabric-only, staged retrofit and whole-house retrofit. Result System-only retrofit is seen as a faster domestic carbon savings benefit but could be a trigger for the homeowner’s interest in a wider heat pump uptake due to its energy cost savings barriers. Fabric-first retrofit significantly reduces residual carbon emissions, but longer economic payback times, with an average of 33 years, stress the importance of retrofit incentives. Whilst the average upfront embodied carbon investment for whole-house retrofit could pay back after 3 years, it could take up to 18 years, depending on the material and equipment selections. By quantifying the impacts of comfort-taking behaviour on energy cost and operational carbon savings, this study highlights that providing necessary information about retrofit sensitivities is important for a retrofit policy and consumer engagement across different archetypes. Conclusion This study can be seen as a context-dependent dialogue example for the South Yorkshire housing stocks, addressing retrofit policy initiatives, delivering retrofit sequencing at the right time, and preparing for the future energy infrastructure to align with retrofit deployment. Practical application This study presents the energy, energy cost and carbon performance of fourteen archetypes, comparing environmental and economic payback as key indicators for the UK’s housing stock retrofit deployment. Using the presented archetype-based modelling study and other GIS-based retrofit planning models with socio-demographic databases, the combined method can rapidly and appropriately target respective dwellings to enable local authority-led area-based retrofit delivery. This work will be of interest to policymakers, retrofit providers and energy suppliers.