The largely unknown idea of 'embedded energy' sees people build in ignorance

T

he idea of “embedded energy” is one that few people have heard of and so they build in ignorance.

Dr Craig Jones writes about this on his blog, “Circular Economy” and says, “There comes a time in the life of every building where extensive refurbishment is required. For many a building this seems to bring with it thoughts of starting again – essentially to demolish and ‘rebuild’”.

“The normal practice in modern times seems to be the preference to demolish and replace. Whereas conservationists naturally prefer to retain existing structures so to repair them and bring them back to their former glory.

“This latter approach retains the existing character and heritage of a building, but proponents of the ‘remove and replace’ philosophy ague about their reduced energy performance,” he writes.

Read Craig’s story - “The Environmental Sustainability of Existing Buildings: Refurbish or Replace?”