Energy retrofit and occupant behaviour in protected housing: A case study of the Brunswick Centre in London

•Behaviour change has the highest energy-saving potential in listed housing retrofit.•The impact of behaviour change can range up to 62–86% of the total energy saving.•The lower behaviour change effect is associated with a higher retrofit level.•Heating temperature has the highest impact on energy use amongst behaviour variables.

This study examines the impact of behavioural and physical variables on the energy saving from retrofitting protected housing. Protected housing in England is referred to as ‘listed’ housing managed by English Heritage. The result of the study demonstrates that balanced approaches can be developed to retrofit listed housing by taking into account occupant behaviour factors, to meet the requirement of both energy efficiency and heritage conservation. A case study of the Brunswick Centre in London shows that the highest household energy use can be 2.2 times higher than average consumption. According to the modelling results from Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) software, the impact of positive behavioural change ranges up to 62–86% of the total potential savings in the tested dwellings, where the lower behaviour change effect is associated with a higher retrofit level. However, rebound behaviour could offset estimated energy saving from physical improvement. Based on the findings, a framework of intervention measures is developed, which demonstrates that the proportion for behavioural change and building technology varies with respect to household energy use level. In summary, this study shows that in listed housing behavioural change has the potential to bring substantial energy saving far exceeding that from physical improvements, and thus tackling behavioural change plays a pivotal role in developing integrative strategies for listed housing retrofit.