The Kyoto Commitment: the challenge for UK building services engineers in obtaining a contribution from the domestic sector.

The UK government has signed the Kyoto Protocol and it has committed to reducing C02 emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2010. As buildings are responsible for approximately half of the UK C02 emissions, of which the domestic sector accounts for 50%, meeting this target will require a significant contribution from the domestic sector. This paper presents the results of a study into the potential for C02 reduction by insulation of the existing housing stock, and compares the C02 emission reduction and energy savings in dwellings produced by revisions of the UK thermal building regulations since 1965. An analysis is given of energy efficiency measures to achieve the contribution of space heating in the domestic sector to the UK government's target. The older dwellings (pre-1965) in the UK produce about three-quarters of the total C02 emission in the domestic sector. Improvements in wall U-values to reach the standard of the 1976 building regulations can give more than 20% reduction in energy consumption and C02 emissions in the total domestic sector. This measure, if accompanied by the introduction of effective heating controls, would achieve an appropriate contribution towards the overall target. Cost, however, is likely to be a barrier. These findings illustrate the challenge for Building Services Engineers to identify measures for older buildings that are more cost effective than wall insulation and therefore more likely to make a real contribution to the C02 reduction target.