A bottom-up energy analysis across a diverse urban building portfolio: retrofits for the buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK

•Simulation to support energy efficient retrofit decisions for a varied building group.•Development of a bespoke simulation tool for the heat demand of a glasshouse.•Stochastic simulation of the electricity consumption of a major research laboratory.•Optimisation of energy supply strategy to a diverse building cluster.•Investigation of the impact of the RHI and FiTs on energy supply strategy.

A methodology for the analysis of building energy retrofits has been developed for a diverse set of buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew in southwest London, UK. The methodology requires selection of appropriate building simulation tools dependent on the nature of the principal energy demand. This has involved the development of a stand-alone model to simulate the heat flow in botanical glasshouses, as well as stochastic simulation of electricity demand for buildings with high equipment density and occupancy-led operation. Application of the methodology to the buildings at RBG Kew illustrates the potential reduction in energy consumption at the building scale achievable from the application of retrofit measures deemed appropriate for heritage buildings and the potential benefit to be gained from onsite generation and supply of energy.