What Are the Implications of Climate Change for Retrofitted Historic Buildings? A Literature Review

Lingjun Hao, Daniel Herrera-Avellanosa, Claudio Del Pero and Alexandra Troi
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Lingjun Hao: Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
Daniel Herrera-Avellanosa: Institute for Renewable Energy, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Claudio Del Pero: Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
Alexandra Troi: Institute for Renewable Energy, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: Historic buildings account for more than one-quarter of Europe’s existing building stock and are going to be crucial in the achievement of future energy targets. Although a drastic reduction in carbon emissions would slow climate change, an alteration in the climate is already certain. Therefore, the impact of climate change on retrofitted historic buildings should be considered in terms of occupants’ comfort, heritage conservation, and energy performance. Inappropriate interventions might weaken the potential of traditional climate adaptive solutions, such as thermal mass and night cooling, leading to higher risks of overheating in a warming climate. Similarly, retrofit solutions will change the moisture dynamics of historic envelopes, which might lead to moisture damages when combined with more extreme precipitation events. This paper reviews recent literature that provides evidence of climate change’s impact on retrofitted buildings, reveals potential future risks, and thereby sheds light on new factors influencing the decision-making process in the retrofit of historic buildings.

Keywords: historic buildings; energy retrofit; climate change; internal climate; overheating; moisture risks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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