Matthew Fox

Purpose: This study examines how façade orientation influences in situ thermal transmission in historic solid wall buildings and evaluates the measured performance of natural insulation materials when applied to traditionally constructed fabric. The aim is to improve the understanding of how orientation and exposure affect retrofit outcomes in hard to treat heritage buildings, supporting more evidence informed retrofit decision making. Design/methodology/approach: Two pre 1910 stone buildings located in coastal Cornwall were monitored using medium duration in situ U value measurements in accordance with ISO 9869 1. Baseline and post retrofit performance was assessed across multiple façade orientations using sheep wool, hemp wool, wood fibre and synthetic polyisocyanurate insulation. Measurements were undertaken over periods ranging from approximately 11–20 days per test, enabling diurnal and exposure related effects to be captured. Measured U values were subsequently used to inform dynamic thermal simulations to explore the sensitivity of energy performance predictions to orientation dependent inputs. Findings: Measured U values varied substantially with façade orientation and insulation material, including differences of up to approximately 16% between opposing elevations under comparable construction conditions. Parallel measurements on the same façade also revealed notable local variability. These results demonstrate that short duration testing and uniform performance assumptions may obscure orientation-related behaviour in historic solid wall construction. Natural insulation materials exhibited thermal performance comparable to polyisocyanurate in several orientations when assessed under real world exposure conditions. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to two case study buildings within a single climatic region and to the specific wall constructions tested. The findings should therefore be interpreted as indicative rather than generalisable. Further work across a wider range of building typologies, orientations and climatic contexts is required to strengthen transferability. Practical implications: The findings highlight the value of extended in situ measurement when assessing retrofit options for historic buildings and demonstrate that orientation specific performance can materially influence measured outcomes. This supports a more cautious and evidence led approach to retrofit design where material choice and exposure are considered together. Originality/value: Whilst research into the influence of orientation on thermal performance has previously been undertaken, it is rarely quantified through medium duration in situ measurements across multiple insulation materials within the same historic buildings. This study contributes empirical evidence derived from extended real-world monitoring, enabling side by side comparison of natural and synthetic insulation performance under comparable exposure conditions. Highlights:

The study tested the effect of adding visualisations to a communication to engage householders with an energy efficiency programme. External wall insulation is an appropriate way of insulating homes, yet take-up is low. Householders may be unaware of the heat loss from uninsulated walls. In earlier research, seeing thermal images prompted the uptake of simple energy efficiency actions amongst householders. Thermal images were added to a standard letter to visualise heat transfer from a home before and after external wall insulation had been installed. A randomised controlled trial tested three types of letter (standard, standard plus thermal image showing problem, standard plus thermal images showing problem and solution) in 5483 UK households. The target outcome was the rate of telephone enquiries after exposure to the letters. Enquiry rates were low (1.6%) and did not differ between letter type. We discuss the null effect in relation to the target action (external wall insulation), the manner of presentation of the visuals (mass communication, letter through the door) and the ingredients of a persuasive intervention. Findings suggest that taking a key ingredient from an intervention and applying it in a different context may result in the loss of its impact.

This paper presents an exploration of the relationship between ward air temperature, radiative effects and hypothermic risk in elderly male orthopaedic patients admitted to a clinical ward in a university hospital. Five bed spaces have their air temperature measured alongside appropriately chosen periods of time-lapse thermography used to assess the probably mean radiative influences. Associated patient clinical data were compared with the environmental data. Because patient core temperatures were measured at different periods throughout the day, this resulted in analysis on an averaging basis allowing for trends to be identified. It was possible to identify which bed spaces with the associated patient characteristics and thermal environment were likely to influence lower than expected patient core temperatures. In conclusion, this study resulted in a null hypothesis based on the measured data and research parameters as no significant correlation between patient core body temperature and indoor air temperature could be deduced. However, this study has established a new methodology for monitoring hospital ward environments.

An international research project led by the University of Plymouth is working to update a centuries-old construction technique for a new generation of energy efficient homes. Whilst it used to be common to build houses with subsoil mixed with straw from local fields, traditional “cob” buildings (or “bauge”, in French) now fall foul of strict thermal requirements. Here, the CobBauge team explain how, through their research, they believe they have found a way to update the technique to satisfy French and UK building regulations.