Social housing providers' asset strategies are becoming more sophisticated, requiring multiple outcomes from stock upgrades reflecting a broad range of economic, social, and environmental requirements. To fulfill these requires supply chains which are integrated, and which learn from experience. Independent monitoring has identified very substantial performance gaps (e.g. in energy, comfort, air quality, maintenance, defects) between low carbon housing refurbishment specifications and in-use. This project will test the feasibility of combining two elements which are critical in ensuring effective integrated supply chains which can bridge these gaps: Use of PAS 1192-3 (asset information management) to drive better information integration; combined with the development of a complimentary whole life cost benefit and risk appraisal tool to ensure the robustness of the selected refurbishment approach.

A consortium comprising of Environmental Process Systems (EPS), the University of Nottingham (UoN), AND Technology Research (ANDtr), Absolute Air & Gas (AAG), Elmhurst Energy Systems (EES) and the National Energy Foundation (NEF) are developing a more efficient, accurate and assessor and occupant friendly means of determining the air tightness properties of existing dwellings. This will help improve the accuracy of baseline performance assessments as well as the applicability and impact modelling of upgrade recommendations. The new instrumentation will also make airtightness performance and compliance checks more accessible and will fundamentally shift the existing air tightness testing market from a small scale specialist service offering to one where assessors, advice providers, retrofit installers, contractors and building control can all undertake leakage assessments themselves – permitting regular screening throughout the retrofit process and accellarating the development of more effective methods for improving and managing airtightness and ventilation.